The Combined Effect of Hydrogen and Oxygen Impurities in the Silicon Nitride Film of MNOS Devices

The combined effect of varying the hydrogen and oxygen impurities in the silicon nitride film of metal-nitride-oxide-semiconductor (NOS) devices was studied to develop a correlation among the chemical composition, current conduction, charge trapping, and memory properties of the devices. The atomic percentage of hydrogen increased in the film as a function of decreasing deposition temperature from 850 to 650 o C. Oxygen was incorporated into the film by replacing nitrogen atoms through the use of nitrous oxide gas during the film deposition process. The addition of oxygen further reduced the hydrogen concentration in the fim