ABSTRACTRefractory metal gates have been studied for CMOS gate electrodes on ultra thin gate oxide due to its midgap work function, low resistivity and no gate depletion, etc. In particular, titanium nitride received most attention because of its process maturity and its good diffusion barrier properties for backend applications. Different TiN film properties are important when TiN is used as a gate material than when it is used for backend applications. One issue is the effect of TiN film impurities on the gate oxides and their high temperature stability since some high temperature processes are usually needed after gate formation. This paper reports the study of different TiN films used as MOS gate electrodes on ultra thin gate oxide and the effects of their impurities on gate oxide electrical performance. PVD TiN films deposited with different process conditions show different oxygen content, and different gate oxide properties were observed when these PVD TiN films were used as gate electrodes. On the other hand CVD TiN films deposited using different precursors also showed different impurities, including carbon, oxygen or silicon, which largely affect CVD TiN performance when used as gate material. The different TiN films were characterized by X-ray glancing angle reflection, XPS, SIMS and TEM, and the electrical properties were studied by I-V, C-V, charge to breakdown (Qbd) and ramp voltage breakdown tests on MOS capacitors. The results showed that the high purity TiN films provide stable gate material with small damage to the gate oxide, but impurities, especially oxygen, affect the gate oxide properties after high temperature anneal. However, due to the different TiN process capabilities, TiN films with impurities may still have advantages over pure TiN film in some cases of different MOS gate applications.