Oxynitride films formed by low energy NO+ implantation into silicon

Oxynitride (SiOxNy) insulators have been obtained by low-energy nitric oxide ion (NO+) implantation in Si substrates prior to thermal oxidation. Characterization by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analyses reveal the presence of Si-O, Si-N, and Si-N-O bonds in the high quality 37 nm silicon oxynitride films. The dielectric constant=5.5, effective charge density=7X10(10) cm(-2) and breakdown E-fields of 3 MV/cm were determined by capacitance-voltage (C-V) and current-voltage (I-V) measurements, respectively, indicating that the SiOxNy films formed are suitable gate insulators for metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.69152214221