Hole Trapping, Substrate Currents, and Breakdown in Thin Silicon Dioxide Films

Abstract

Using oxide-trapped-charge sensing techniques on FET's after high-field Fowler-Nordheim-stress, anode hole injection is shown to be important only for gate voltages larger than ≈7.6 V for either p-or n-channel devices with n+ poly-Si gates independent of oxide thickness. These results do not support popular models for thin oxide degradation and “intrinsic” breakdown based on hole trapping in the oxide layer at lower voltages. © 1995 IEEE