Semiconductor devices with gate electrodes and with monocrystalline silicon regions that contain atoms of nitrogen and one or more of chlorine, bromine, sulfur, fluorine, or phosphorus

A semiconductor device comprising:

• a monocrystalline silicon substrate which has been subjected to a high temperature first anneal in a nitrogen releasing atmosphere while the substrate was coated by a doped sacrificial first oxide layer that was doped with diffusible atoms selected from the group consisting of CI, Br, S, F and P, where said diffusible atoms constituted at least 1% by atomic percentage of atoms in the sacrificial first oxide layer and where said high temperature of the first anneal allowed nitrogen atoms released from said atmosphere to penetrate into the substrate to a predetermined depth below the doped sacrificial first oxide layer, the diffusible atoms being present in the substrate;
• and
• a gate electrode, disposed above and insulated from a surface of the silicon substrate which has been subjected to the high temperature first anneal, where the gate electrode is coupled to drive circuitry for inducing a drift of minority charge carriers below said surface;
• a source region disposed along a first side of a portion of the surface of the silicon substrate which has been subjected to the high temperature first anneal, where the source region is coupled to circuitry for inducing a drift of minority charge carriers below said portion of the surface;
• and
• a drain region disposed along an opposed second side of the portion of the surface of the silicon substrate which has been subjected to the high temperature first anneal, where the drain region is coupled to circuitry for inducing a drift of minority charge carriers below said portion of the surface;
• wherein said gate electrode, source region and drain region define a transistor having a transconductance that is approximately 10% greater than a hypothetical transconductance that would have been obtained if said high temperature first anneal had not been performed with the doped sacrificial first oxide layer.

A semiconductor device comprising:

• a monocrystalline silicon region comprising a top surface, the monocrystalline silicon region comprising a channel region of the semiconductor device;
• two source or drain regions bordering on the monocrystalline silicon region, the source or drain regions bordering on the channel region;
• and
• a gate electrode adjacent to the top surface of the monocrystalline silicon region, for inducing changes in population of charge carriers in the monocrystalline silicon region;
• wherein the monocrystalline silicon region comprises:
• a plurality of first atoms each of which is an atom of chlorine, bromine, sulfur, fluorine, or phosphorus, the first atoms being present at a depth or depths greater than 0.1 μm below the top surface at which depth or depths the first atoms spread laterally continuously at least as far as the channel region;
• and
• a plurality of nitrogen atoms being present at a depth or depths greater than 0.1 μm below the top surface at which depth or depths the nitrogen atoms spread laterally continuously at least as far as the channel region.

A semiconductor device comprising:

• a monocrystalline silicon region comprising a top surface, the monocrystalline silicon region comprising a channel region of the semiconductor device;
• two source or drain regions bordering on the monocrystalline silicon region, the source or drain regions being at opposite ends of the channel region;
• and
• a gate electrode adjacent to the top surface of the monocrystalline silicon region, for inducing changes in population of charge carriers in the monocrystalline silicon region;
• wherein the monocrystalline silicon region comprises:
• a plurality of first atoms each of which is an atom of chlorine, bromine, sulfur, fluorine, or phosphorus, the first atoms being present at a depth or depths greater than 0.1 μm below the top surface at which depth or depths the first atoms spread laterally continuously between the two source or drain regions;
• and
• a plurality of nitrogen atoms being present at a depth or depths greater than 0.1 μm below the top surface at which depth or depths the nitrogen atoms spread laterally continuously between the two source or drain regions.