HIGHLY RELIABLE LIQUID-PHASE-DEPOSITED SiO2 WITH NITROUS OXIDE PLASMA POST-TREATMENT FOR LOW-TEMPERATURE-PROCESSED POLYSILICON THIN FILM TRANSISTORS

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Part 1 Vol. 41; no. 10; pp. 6119 - 6126
• Main Authors: Yeh, C-F, Chen, D C-H, Lu, C-Y, Liu, C, Lee, S-T, Liu, C-H, Chen, T-J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2002
• ISSN: 0021-4922
• DOI: 10.1143/JJAP.41.6119

Low-temperature (approximately 300 C) N2O-plasma post-treatment for liquid-phase-deposited (LPD) gate oxide has been proposed for the first time. This treatment takes the place of conventional furnace annealing in O2 ambient. Results of physicochemical and electrical characteristics show that N2O-plasma post-treated LPD-SiO2 has a high electrical breakdown field and low interface state density. In addition, N2O-plasma treatment also improves the Si-rich phenomenon of LPD-SiO2. From the comparison with pure N2O-plasma oxidation film, LPD-SiO2 with its short re-oxidation time in N2O plasma plays an important role in relieving interfacial stress. Finally, the novel technology is applied to the gate oxide of low-temperature-processed (LTP) polysilicon thin film transistors (poly-Si TFTs). The device performance reveals excellent electrical characteristics, and the reliability shows a satisfactory result, as well as the gate oxide reliability. The N2O-plasma post-treatment not only improves the oxide quality, but also effectively passivates the trap states of poly-Si TFTs. 24 refs.