SUPERTHIN O/N/O STACKED DIELECTRICS FORMED BY OXIDIZING THIN NITRIDES IN LOW-PRESSURE OXYGEN FOR HIGH-DENSITY MEMORY DEVICES

High-performance superthin oxide/nitride/oxide (O/N/O) stacked dielectrics have been successfully achieved by oxidizing thin nitride films in low-pressure dry-oxygen at 850-degrees-C for 30 min. Since the nitrides exhibit a better oxidation resistance to the low-pressure dry-oxygen than to the atmospheric-pressure dry-oxygen and wet-oxygen, the low pressure oxidation obtains a thinner oxidized nitride for the high-density dynamic-random-access-memories (DRAM's) and metal-oxide-nitride-oxide-semiconductor (MONO'S) memory devices. In addition, this dielectric possesses low leakage current and excellent time-dependent-dielectric-breakdown (TDDB) characteristics. Therefore, this novel recipe is promising for future ULSI technology.