Q-Factor Performance of 28 nm-Node High-K Gate Dielectric under DPN Treatment at Different Annealing Temperatures

Q-factor is a reasonable index to investigate the integrity of circuits or devices in terms of their energy or charge storage capabilities. We use this figure of merit to explore the deposition quality of nano-node high-k gate dielectrics by decoupled-plasma nitridation at different temperatures with a fixed nitrogen concentration. This is very important in radio-frequency applications. From the point of view of the Q-factor, the device treated at a higher annealing temperature clearly demonstrates a better Q-factor value. Another interesting observation is the appearance of two troughs in the Q-VGS characteristics, which are strongly related to either the series parasitic capacitance, the tunneling effect, or both.