Definition
A hydrogen anneal is a thermal semiconductor process performed in a hydrogen-containing ambient so hydrogen can passivate electrically active defects or dangling bonds at semiconductor, dielectric, or interface surfaces.
Application
Hydrogen annealing/passivation is used to improve interface and gate-dielectric quality, reduce defect-related degradation, and can also modify silicon surface morphology in selected fabrication flows.
Related search terms
hydrogen passivation anneal
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Related concepts
Evidence and further reading
- Evidence from imec-int.comhttps://www.imec-int.com/en/articles/novel-approach-improving-gate-stack-reliability
- Evidence from arxiv.orghttps://arxiv.org/abs/1406.6609