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Acceleration Factors and Mechanistic Study of Progressive Breakdown in Small Area Ultra-thin Gate Oxides

Published

Author(s)

John S. Suehle, Baozhong Zhu, Yuan Chen, Joseph B. Berstein

Abstract

Two post soft breakdown modes are studied: one in which the conducting filament is stable until hard breakdown occurs and one in which the filament continually degrades with time. Acceleration factors are different for each mode indicating different physical mechanisms. The results suggest that the 'hardness' of the first breakdown influences the residual time distribution of the following hard breakdown. Tunneling current appears to be the driving force for both modes.
Proceedings Title
2004 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings
Conference Dates
April 25-29, 2004
Conference Location
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Conference Title
International Reliability Physics Symposium

Keywords

CMOS, dielectric breakdown, oxide reliability, silicon dioxide

Citation

Suehle, J. , Zhu, B. , Chen, Y. and Berstein, J. (2004), Acceleration Factors and Mechanistic Study of Progressive Breakdown in Small Area Ultra-thin Gate Oxides, 2004 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings, Phoenix, AZ, USA (Accessed December 13, 2024)

Issues

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Created April 28, 2004, Updated October 12, 2021