Charging damage from plasma enhanced TEOS deposition

Serious n-channel transistor hot-carrier lifetime degradation due to plasma-charging damage during PETEOS deposition is reported for the first time. Contrary to conventional wisdom, a dielectric film thickness dependent damage is observed. A new mechanism for charging-damage during plasma deposition of dielectric is proposed. This new mechanism uses photoconduction to explain why the antennae continue to charge up after a layer of dielectric is deposited on top. Some numerical estimation is provided.