Behavior of transconductance and drive current of decoupled plasma nitridation oxynitrides

A thinner base oxide prior to decoupled plasma nitridation produced an improved high field transconductance normalized by oxide electrical thickness as compared to a thicker base oxide. Normalized peak transconductance at a lower electrical field is improved with a lower nitrogen concentration, but normalized transconductance at a higher electrical field is improved as the nitrogen concentration increases. Although there is a trend that drive current and gate leakage current are mainly determined by base oxide thickness, drive current shows a complicated dependency on a nitrogen concentration. The findings from transistor drive current characteristics are consistent with the behavior of transconductance.