The Effect of the Dielectric Layer with Surface Plasma Treatment on Characteristics of Amorphous Silicon Antifuse
With the advantages of lower capacitance, faster operation and smaller size, the amorphous silicon antifuse is very promising for high-speed and high-density FPGA. However, the leakage current of the conventional amorphous silicon antifuse in the off-state is high, which decreases its performance an...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Electronics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/11/21/3522 |
| _version_ | 1797468482046001152 |
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| author | Tao Du Wei Li Wenchang Li Jianjun Li Xiaodong Xie |
| author_facet | Tao Du Wei Li Wenchang Li Jianjun Li Xiaodong Xie |
| author_sort | Tao Du |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | With the advantages of lower capacitance, faster operation and smaller size, the amorphous silicon antifuse is very promising for high-speed and high-density FPGA. However, the leakage current of the conventional amorphous silicon antifuse in the off-state is high, which decreases its performance and reliability. Although the leakage current of the SiN<sub>X</sub> or SiO<sub>X</sub> antifuse is small, the proper thickness of the dielectric layer is not easily controlled by PECVD processes. In addition, the highly undesirable switch-off behavior is common to almost all metal-to-metal antifuse structures. Focusing on the study of amorphous silicon multilayer dielectric structures, a novel antifuse with the structure of Al/α-Si:H,N/α-Si:H/Al was proposed, which was manufactured by nitrogen plasma treatment for an α-Si:H film surface. Through surface plasma treatment, the hydrogen content of the dielectric layer is stable, the film surface is smoother, the leakage current is reduced, the switch-off behavior is eliminated, the programming voltage is more concentrated and the on-state resistance distribution is more compact. The results demonstrated that surface plasma treatment with proper time for the dielectric layer could significantly improve the performance and reliability of the Al/α-Si:H,N/α-Si:H/Al antifuse. Furthermore, the fabrication process of the α-Si:H,N/α-Si:H structure has excellent compatibility, controllability and simplicity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:08:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1e373914fbb243dc8f88dab41e2b9a2d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-9292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:08:05Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Electronics |
| spelling | doaj.art-1e373914fbb243dc8f88dab41e2b9a2d2023-11-24T04:25:16ZengMDPI AGElectronics2079-92922022-10-011121352210.3390/electronics11213522The Effect of the Dielectric Layer with Surface Plasma Treatment on Characteristics of Amorphous Silicon AntifuseTao Du0Wei Li1Wenchang Li2Jianjun Li3Xiaodong Xie4State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, ChinaKey Laboratory of Solid-State Optoelectronics Information Technology, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, ChinaWith the advantages of lower capacitance, faster operation and smaller size, the amorphous silicon antifuse is very promising for high-speed and high-density FPGA. However, the leakage current of the conventional amorphous silicon antifuse in the off-state is high, which decreases its performance and reliability. Although the leakage current of the SiN<sub>X</sub> or SiO<sub>X</sub> antifuse is small, the proper thickness of the dielectric layer is not easily controlled by PECVD processes. In addition, the highly undesirable switch-off behavior is common to almost all metal-to-metal antifuse structures. Focusing on the study of amorphous silicon multilayer dielectric structures, a novel antifuse with the structure of Al/α-Si:H,N/α-Si:H/Al was proposed, which was manufactured by nitrogen plasma treatment for an α-Si:H film surface. Through surface plasma treatment, the hydrogen content of the dielectric layer is stable, the film surface is smoother, the leakage current is reduced, the switch-off behavior is eliminated, the programming voltage is more concentrated and the on-state resistance distribution is more compact. The results demonstrated that surface plasma treatment with proper time for the dielectric layer could significantly improve the performance and reliability of the Al/α-Si:H,N/α-Si:H/Al antifuse. Furthermore, the fabrication process of the α-Si:H,N/α-Si:H structure has excellent compatibility, controllability and simplicity.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/11/21/3522amorphous siliconmetal-to-metal antifusedielectric filmsurface plasma treatmentreliability |
| spellingShingle | Tao Du Wei Li Wenchang Li Jianjun Li Xiaodong Xie The Effect of the Dielectric Layer with Surface Plasma Treatment on Characteristics of Amorphous Silicon Antifuse Electronics amorphous silicon metal-to-metal antifuse dielectric film surface plasma treatment reliability |
| title | The Effect of the Dielectric Layer with Surface Plasma Treatment on Characteristics of Amorphous Silicon Antifuse |
| title_full | The Effect of the Dielectric Layer with Surface Plasma Treatment on Characteristics of Amorphous Silicon Antifuse |
| title_fullStr | The Effect of the Dielectric Layer with Surface Plasma Treatment on Characteristics of Amorphous Silicon Antifuse |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Effect of the Dielectric Layer with Surface Plasma Treatment on Characteristics of Amorphous Silicon Antifuse |
| title_short | The Effect of the Dielectric Layer with Surface Plasma Treatment on Characteristics of Amorphous Silicon Antifuse |
| title_sort | effect of the dielectric layer with surface plasma treatment on characteristics of amorphous silicon antifuse |
| topic | amorphous silicon metal-to-metal antifuse dielectric film surface plasma treatment reliability |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/11/21/3522 |
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