<s>
The	O
term	O
high-κ	B-Algorithm
dielectric	I-Algorithm
refers	O
to	O
a	O
material	O
with	O
a	O
high	O
dielectric	O
constant	O
( κ	O
,	O
kappa	O
)	O
,	O
as	O
compared	O
to	O
silicon	O
dioxide	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
High-κ	B-Algorithm
dielectrics	I-Algorithm
are	O
used	O
in	O
semiconductor	B-Architecture
manufacturing	I-Architecture
processes	I-Architecture
where	O
they	O
are	O
usually	O
used	O
to	O
replace	O
a	O
silicon	O
dioxide	O
gate	B-Algorithm
dielectric	I-Algorithm
or	O
another	O
dielectric	O
layer	O
of	O
a	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
implementation	O
of	O
high-κ	B-Algorithm
gate	O
dielectrics	O
is	O
one	O
of	O
several	O
strategies	O
developed	O
to	O
allow	O
further	O
miniaturization	O
of	O
microelectronic	O
components	O
,	O
colloquially	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
extending	O
Moore	O
's	O
Law	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sometimes	O
these	O
materials	O
are	O
called	O
"	O
high-k	B-Algorithm
"	O
(	O
pronounced	O
"	O
high	O
kay	O
"	O
)	O
,	O
instead	O
of	O
"	O
high-κ	B-Algorithm
"	O
(	O
high	O
kappa	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Silicon	O
dioxide	O
(	O
)	O
has	O
been	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
gate	B-Algorithm
oxide	I-Algorithm
material	O
for	O
decades	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
metal	B-Architecture
–	I-Architecture
oxide	I-Architecture
–	I-Architecture
semiconductor	I-Architecture
field-effect	I-Architecture
transistors	I-Architecture
(	O
MOSFETs	B-Architecture
)	O
have	O
decreased	O
in	O
size	O
,	O
the	O
thickness	O
of	O
the	O
silicon	O
dioxide	O
gate	B-Algorithm
dielectric	I-Algorithm
has	O
steadily	O
decreased	O
to	O
increase	O
the	O
gate	O
capacitance	O
(	O
per	O
unit	O
area	O
)	O
and	O
thereby	O
drive	O
current	O
(	O
per	O
device	O
width	O
)	O
,	O
raising	O
device	O
performance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Replacing	O
the	O
silicon	O
dioxide	O
gate	B-Algorithm
dielectric	I-Algorithm
with	O
a	O
high-κ	B-Algorithm
material	O
allows	O
increased	O
gate	O
capacitance	O
without	O
the	O
associated	O
leakage	O
effects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
gate	B-Algorithm
oxide	I-Algorithm
in	O
a	O
MOSFET	B-Architecture
can	O
be	O
modeled	O
as	O
a	O
parallel	O
plate	O
capacitor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
leakage	O
limitation	O
constrains	O
further	O
reduction	O
of	O
,	O
an	O
alternative	O
method	O
to	O
increase	O
gate	O
capacitance	O
is	O
alter	O
κ	O
by	O
replacing	O
silicon	O
dioxide	O
with	O
a	O
high-κ	B-Algorithm
material	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
such	O
a	O
scenario	O
,	O
a	O
thicker	O
gate	B-Algorithm
oxide	I-Algorithm
layer	O
might	O
be	O
used	O
which	O
can	O
reduce	O
the	O
leakage	O
current	O
flowing	O
through	O
the	O
structure	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
improving	O
the	O
gate	B-Algorithm
dielectric	I-Algorithm
reliability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
,	O
cannot	O
easily	O
be	O
reduced	O
below	O
about	O
200mV	O
,	O
because	O
leakage	O
currents	O
due	O
to	O
increased	O
oxide	O
leakage	O
(	O
that	O
is	O
,	O
assuming	O
high-κ	B-Algorithm
dielectrics	I-Algorithm
are	O
not	O
available	O
)	O
and	O
subthreshold	O
conduction	O
raise	O
stand-by	O
power	O
consumption	O
to	O
unacceptable	O
levels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
this	O
simplified	O
list	O
of	O
factors	O
,	O
an	O
increased	O
requires	O
a	O
reduction	O
in	O
the	O
channel	O
length	O
or	O
an	O
increase	O
in	O
the	O
gate	B-Algorithm
dielectric	I-Algorithm
capacitance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Replacing	O
the	O
silicon	O
dioxide	O
gate	B-Algorithm
dielectric	I-Algorithm
with	O
another	O
material	O
adds	O
complexity	O
to	O
the	O
manufacturing	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Silicon	O
dioxide	O
can	O
be	O
formed	O
by	O
oxidizing	B-Algorithm
the	O
underlying	O
silicon	O
,	O
ensuring	O
a	O
uniform	O
,	O
conformal	O
oxide	O
and	O
high	O
interface	O
quality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
expected	O
that	O
defect	O
states	O
in	O
the	O
high-κ	B-Algorithm
dielectric	I-Algorithm
can	O
influence	O
its	O
electrical	O
properties	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
nitride	O
content	O
subtly	O
raises	O
the	O
dielectric	O
constant	O
and	O
is	O
thought	O
to	O
offer	O
other	O
advantages	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
resistance	O
against	O
dopant	O
diffusion	O
through	O
the	O
gate	B-Algorithm
dielectric	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2000	O
,	O
Gurtej	O
Singh	O
Sandhu	O
and	O
Trung	O
T	O
.	O
Doan	O
of	O
Micron	O
Technology	O
initiated	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
atomic	O
layer	O
deposition	O
high-κ	B-Algorithm
films	O
for	O
DRAM	O
memory	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
helped	O
drive	O
cost-effective	O
implementation	O
of	O
semiconductor	B-Architecture
memory	I-Architecture
,	O
starting	O
with	O
90-nm	O
node	O
DRAM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
2007	O
,	O
Intel	O
announced	O
the	O
deployment	O
of	O
hafnium-based	O
high-κ	B-Algorithm
dielectrics	I-Algorithm
in	O
conjunction	O
with	O
a	O
metallic	O
gate	O
for	O
components	O
built	O
on	O
45	B-Algorithm
nanometer	I-Algorithm
technologies	O
,	O
and	O
has	O
shipped	O
it	O
in	O
the	O
2007	O
processor	O
series	O
codenamed	O
Penryn	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
,	O
IBM	O
announced	O
plans	O
to	O
transition	O
to	O
high-κ	B-Algorithm
materials	O
,	O
also	O
hafnium-based	O
,	O
for	O
some	O
products	O
in	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
no	O
guarantee	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
that	O
hafnium	O
will	O
serve	O
as	O
a	O
de	O
facto	O
basis	O
for	O
future	O
high-κ	B-Algorithm
dielectrics	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
2006	O
ITRS	O
roadmap	O
predicted	O
the	O
implementation	O
of	O
high-κ	B-Algorithm
materials	O
to	O
be	O
commonplace	O
in	O
the	O
industry	O
by	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
