Hot carrier reliability of n-MOSFET with ultra-thin HfO/sub 2/ gate dielectric and poly-Si gate

The hot carrier reliability of n-channel MOSFETs with 11 /spl Aring/ EOT HfO/sub 2/ gate dielectric and poly-Si gates was studied. Under peak I/sub SUB/ stress conditions, n-FETs with HfO/sub 2/ gate dielectric show longer lifetime when compared to SiO/sub 2/ n-FETs for the same stress substrate current. At room temperature, the 0.15 /spl mu/m channel length HfO/sub 2/ n-FETs are projected to have a 10-year lifetime at V/sub D/ = 2.76 V.