Local Electro-Thermal Annealing for Repair of Total Ionizing Dose-Induced Damage in Gate-All-Around MOSFETs

A shift in threshold voltage caused by total ionizing dose (TID) is problematic in the MOSFET, especially in aerospace applications. Unlike traditional methods to minimize damage from TID, in this letter, a novel electro-thermal annealing method to cure the TID-induced damage is demonstrated for the first time. In this concept, the conventional hardening or shielding techniques are not used. In a gate-all-around MOSFET structure, dual gate electrodes were employed as an embedded nanowire heater to generate localized Joule heat, which can anneal insulating layers, including gate oxide and spacer. With the Joule heat, trapped positive charges produced by the TID were neutralized within 200 ms. A damaged device with a radiation-induced threshold voltage shift was repaired to the level of a fresh pristine device.