A new method for the analysis of high-resolution SILC data

Abstract

Stress-induced Leakage Current (SILC) on ultra-thin SiO2 was measured in-situ by using a high-resolution measurement technique. A broad gate stress voltage range was applied from -2.9 V down to -1.9 V with a voltage step of 0.2 V. The observed current increase corresponds both to an increase in positive charge trapping and to the growth of conduction paths through the oxide. In this article, a new method, based on the Nigam-model is proposed to determine the relevant model parameters. It has been observed that at low voltages the contribution of the charge-trapping component is drastically reduced. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.