Natural radioactivity consideration for high-κ dielectrics and metal gates choice in nanoelectronic devices

In order to face downscaling, new chemical elements are used and suggested for the semiconductor industry. However, some of these elements have natural radioactive isotopes, which may cause reliability issues in nanoelectronic devices by triggering soft errors. In this paper, we focus on high-κ dielectric materials and metal gates. We show that besides physical, chemical and mechanical properties of high-κ dielectrics and metal gates, natural radioactivity is also a crucial property to be considered in order to select suitable materials. Using samarium in gate oxides and platinum in electrodes turns out to be a crucial issue for ground level applications.