Dependence of ultra-thin gate oxide reliability on surface cleaning approach

In this paper, we investigate the effect of silicon surface cleaning prior to oxidation on the reliability of ultra-thin oxides. It is demonstrated that chemical preoxide grown in H2SO4/H2O2 (SPM) solution prior to oxidation provides better oxide integrity than both HF-based solution dipping and preoxide grown in RCA SC1 or SC2 solutions. It is also found that the oxides with SPM preoxide exhibit better hot-carrier immunity than the RCA cleaned oxides.