EFFECTS OF PLASMA CHARGING DAMAGE ON THE NOISE PERFORMANCE OF THIN-OXIDE MOSFETS

The effects of plasma charging damage on the noise properties of MOSFET's which is a necessary consideration for high-performance analog applications were studied using 1/f noise, Random Telegraph Signal (RTS) noise and charge pumping techniques. Plasma ashing significantly increases the drain flicker noise, more with larger antenna sizes, mainly in the low-frequency and low-gate-bias regime. The observed RTS reveals that an oxide trap with a few milliseconds time constant was induced by the plasma processing. This oxide trap is located in the energy space which corresponds to the low gate bias of device. This trap may be reproduced by Fowler Nordheim stress as suggested by noise and charge pumping measurements, supporting the notion that plasma ashing damage is a result of electrical stress, not radiation, for example.