The Electrochemical Kinetics of Selectively Corroding Poly-Silicon in Generating Lonely Crater-Defects

Abstract

The electrochemical kinetics of selectively corroding poly-silicon has been elucidated for the first time in generating lonely crater-defects into the unnoticeable spots of damage due to the intermittent micro-arcing events during implantation. By largely shunting the electrochemical corrosion process in a weak electrolyte (HF), the crater-defects in poly-silicon have been eliminated for significantly improving the gate oxide integrity.