The effect of fluorine implantation on the interface radiation hardness of Si-gate metal-oxide-semiconductor transistors

Abstract
The radiation hardness of fluorinated SiO2/Si interface in metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors has been found to depend strongly on the amount of fluorine introduced. In this study, the fluorine was introduced by low-energy F implantation onto the surface of the polycrystalline silicon gate electrode, followed by annealing at 950 °C to diffuse F into the gate SiO2 toward the SiO2/Si interface. The improved radiation hardness is attributed to the strain relaxation near the SiO2/Si interface by fluorine incorporation.