Patent ID: 7459403

Claim:
A method of suppressing de-passivation aging of microelectronic circuits having dielectric/semiconductor interfaces, the method comprising: providing said microelectronic circuits of said dielectric/semiconductor interfaces, which dangling bonds present in said dielectric/semiconductor interfaces and in which said dangling bonds have been passivated by chemically combining said dangling bonds with hydrogen species during fabrication process of said microelectronic circuits to form a semiconductor-hydrogen species bonds, wherein said interface being subsequently subjected to the aging processes of electrical stress and/or radiation causing said semiconductor-hydrogen species bonds to be broken and thereby causing said hydrogen species to diffuse away from said interface via said interstitial channels of said dielectric; filling said interstitial channels of said dielectric with a small atomic diameter inert gas, and thereby suppressing said de-passivation aging by confining said hydrogen species at said interfaces by said filling of said interstitial channels with said small atomic diameter inert gas.