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  Semiconductor device, an electronic device and an electronic apparatusUSPTO Application #: 20070181960Title: Semiconductor device, an electronic device and an electronic apparatus Abstract: A semiconductor device 1 includes: a base 2 mainly formed of a semiconductor material; a gate electrode 5; and a gate insulating film 3 provided between the base 2 and the gate electrode 5. The gate insulating film 3 is formed of an insulative inorganic material containing silicon, oxygen and element X other than silicon and oxygen as a main material. The gate insulating film 3 is provided in contact with the base 2, and contains hydrogen atoms. The gate insulating film 3 has a region where A and B satisfy the relation: B/A is 10 or less in the case where the total concentration of the element X in the region is defined as A and the total concentration of hydrogen in the region is defined as B. Further, the region is at least a part of the gate insulating film 3 in the thickness direction thereof. (end of abstract)
Agent: Harness, Dickey & Pierce, P.L.C - Bloomfield Hills, MI, US Inventor: Masayasu Miyata USPTO Applicaton #: 20070181960 - Class: 257411000 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Active Solid-state Devices (e.g., Transistors, Solid-state Diodes), Field Effect Device, Having Insulated Electrode (e.g., Mosfet, Mos Diode), Gate Insulator Includes Material (including Air Or Vacuum) Other Than Sio 2, Composite Or Layered Gate Insulator (e.g., Mixture Such As Silicon Oxynitride) The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070181960. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, an electronic device and an electronic apparatus. BACKGROUND ART [0002] Recently, in devices including semiconductor integrated circuits, in order to improve high integration thereof, the size of each element tends to become miniaturization increasingly. In a Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET), for example, the thickness of a gate insulating film (gate insulator) tends to become further thinner, and therefore it is difficult to ensure resistance to a dielectric breakdown of the insulating film. [0003] The dielectric breakdown of a gate insulating film includes a Time Zero Dielectric Breakdown (TZDB) and a time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB). The TZDB is an initial failure of the gate insulating film, and means a dielectric breakdown in which a large leakage current flows in the insulating film at the moment of applying an electric stress such as a voltage stress, a current stress or the like. On the other hand, the TDDB is a phenomenon in which a dielectric breakdown occurs in the gate insulating film when some time has passed since the application of an electric stress, not at the time point when the electric stress is applied to the gate insulating film. [0004] Further, the TDDB is classified into a hard breakdown (HBD) and a soft breakdown (SBD). The HBD is a well-known dielectric breakdown, and a large leakage current flows in an insulating film after breakdown. On the other hand, the SBD is a state at which a leakage current flows more than at an initial insulating state, but less than at the time after the HBD occurs. [0005] The HBD is a dielectric breakdown that occurs when a relatively high electric stress is applied to an insulating film. Once a leakage current flows when the HBD occurs, an insulating property thereof is never recovered even though the insulating film is left without application of an electric stress thereto thereafter. On the other hand, the SBD is a dielectric breakdown that often occurs when a low electric stress is applied thereto. There is a case in which an insulating property thereof is recovered if the insulating film is left without application of an electric stress thereto after a leakage current occurred. Therefore, a MOSFET in which a SBD occurs may function as a semiconductor device (semiconductor element) although an insulating property thereof becomes unstable. Further, there is a possibility that the SBD shifts to the HBD as time goes by. [0006] In addition, there is a low electric field leakage current referred to as a stress-induced leakage current (SILC) as deterioration after application of the electric stress. The SILC attracts attention as a precursor of the TDDB in addition to its effect on an insulating film to increase a leakage current. In this regard, each of the SILC and SBD still has many unclear points even though various examinations have been carried out. The SBD is also referred to as "B-mode SILC", and thus the distinction between the SILC and the SBD is unclear. [0007] In these deterioration modes of the insulating film, the SBD and SILC particularly become problems in thinning a gate insulating film. In the case where the thickness of the gate insulating film (gate oxidized film) is 10 nm or less, the deterioration frequently occurs in the low electric field intensity range of 10 MV/cm or less (that is, in the low voltage range in which the electric field intensity is in the range of 10 MV/cm or less), and this becomes major cause that prevent a gate insulating film from being thinned. [0008] For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2002-299612 discloses an insulating film (gate insulating film) of a semiconductor device in which density of hydrogen atoms is reduced to a predetermined value in order to prevent the occurrence of the SILC. However, the above-mentioned patent application focuses on prevention of occurrence of the SILC, and as a result, the occurrence of the SBD is not examined and discussed in this application. In this regard, each of hydrogen atoms in the insulating film exists at a state of molecular hydrogen or at a connected state to any one of constituent elements of the insulating film. However, this patent application only defines the total amount of hydrogen atoms. According to consideration of the present inventor, it is understood that it is difficult to prevent the occurrence of SBD only by reducing the total amount of hydrogen atoms in the insulating film. DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION [0009] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor device including an insulating film that can prevent SBD or SILC from occurring even in the case of thinning the insulating film and have high resistance to a dielectric breakdown such as SILC, TZDB, or TDDB (that is, that can improve insulating properties to SILC, TZDB, or TDDB). It is another object of the present invention to provide a highly reliable electronic device and electronic apparatus that include the above-mentioned semiconductor device. [0010] In order to achieve the above object, in one aspect of the present invention, the present invention is directed to a semiconductor device. The semiconductor device includes: [0011] a base which is mainly formed of a semiconductor material; [0012] an object to be insulated from the base; and [0013] an insulating film provided between the base and the object for insulating the object from the base, the insulating film being formed of an insulative inorganic material as a main material, the insulative inorganic material containing silicon, oxygen and at least one kind of element other than silicon and oxygen, the insulating film being provided in contact with the base, and the insulating film containing hydrogen atoms, [0014] wherein the insulating film has a region where A and B satisfy the relation: B/A is 10 or less in the case where the total concentration of the at least one kind of element in the region is defined as A and the total concentration of hydrogen in the region is defined as B, in which the region is at least a part of the insulating film in the thickness direction thereof. [0015] This makes it possible to prevent SBD or SILC from occurring even in the case of thinning the insulating film and to have high resistance to a dielectric breakdown such as SILC, TZDB, or TDDB (that is, it is possible to improve insulating properties to SILC, TZDB, or TDDB). [0016] In the semiconductor device of the present invention, it is preferable that the region is unevenly located in the vicinity of an interface between the insulating film and the base. [0017] This makes it possible to improve resistance to a dielectric breakdown of the insulating film while preventing change in the characteristics of the insulating film due to existence of the at least one kind of element (in an embodiment, element X). [0018] In the semiconductor device of the present invention, it is preferable that, in the case where the average thickness of the insulating film is defined as Y, the region is located at a portion of the insulating film which resides within the thickness of Y/3 of the insulating film from the interface. [0019] This makes it possible to improve resistance to a dielectric breakdown of the insulating film while preventing the change in the characteristics of the insulating film due to existence of the at least one kind of element (in an embodiment, element X). [0020] In the semiconductor device of the present invention, it is preferable that the at least one kind of element includes at least one of nitrogen, carbon, aluminum, hafnium, zirconium, and germanium. [0021] This makes it possible to reduce the amount of Si--OH structures in the insulating film more surely and to prevent the amount of Si--OH structures from increasing due to an external electric field more suitably while preventing the change in the characteristics of the insulating film. As a result, it is possible to prevent a dielectric breakdown of the insulating film (such as SBD, SILC) more surely. Continue reading... Full patent description for Semiconductor device, an electronic device and an electronic apparatus Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Semiconductor device, an electronic device and an electronic apparatus patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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