Gate insulator process for nanometer mosfets

Abstract

Methods of manufacturing insulating materials and semiconductor devices incorporating films having high dielectric constants are disclosed, in which the high-dielectric constant material is deposited on a semiconductor surface that has been treated to prevent the formation of interfacial oxide between the semiconductor substrate and the high, dielectric constant material. The methods of this invention involve implantation of nitrogen ions through the sacrificial oxide layer, thereby forming a nitrided silicon substrate underneath the sacrificial oxide. The sacrificial oxide can then removed, and thereafter layers of high dielectric constant materials can be deposited on the nitrided silicon substrate without the formation of interfacial oxide. Manufacturing devices using the methods of this invention can result in the formation of an overall insulating film having a dielectric constant that more closely reflects the dielectric constant of the high-dielectric constant material. Therefore, the insulating films made using the methods of this invention can be made thinner than conventional insulating films, thus permitting the manufacture of semiconductor products having increasing device density and increasing efficiency, and decreasing manufacturing costs.