Experimental setup for non-destructive measurement of tunneling currents in semiconductor devices

•Non-destructive tunneling current measurements have been achieved.•Transient behavior of semiconductor devices can be monitored.•Real-time monitoring of oxide degradation becomes possible.•Physical properties of semiconductor devices are better understood. A new experimental setup used to perform n...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Measurement : journal of the International Measurement Confederation 2014-08, Vol.54, p.234-240
Main Authors: Chiquet, Philippe, Masson, Pascal, Postel-Pellerin, Jérémy, Laffont, Romain, Micolau, Gilles, Lalande, Frédéric, Regnier, Arnaud
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Electrical measurements
Environmental Sciences
Non-destructive measurements
Non-volatile memory
Semiconductor devices
Transient measurements
Tunneling currents
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:•Non-destructive tunneling current measurements have been achieved.•Transient behavior of semiconductor devices can be monitored.•Real-time monitoring of oxide degradation becomes possible.•Physical properties of semiconductor devices are better understood. A new experimental setup used to perform non-destructive measurement of electrical quantities on semiconductor devices is described in this paper. The particular case of tunneling current measurement in n-type semiconductor–oxide–semiconductor (SOS) capacitors, whose dielectrics play a crucial role in non-volatile memories, has been investigated. When the gates of such devices are polarized with a sufficient bias voltage while the other terminals are grounded, tunnel conduction of electrons through the thin oxide layer is allowed. Typical tunneling current measurements obtained with this advanced setup are presented and compared to the results yielded by older standard experimental protocols. An application to the experimental observation of the temperature dependence of the tunneling current is proposed. Conclusions about the benefits of this kind of electrical measurements are then drawn.
ISSN:0263-2241
1873-412X
DOI:10.1016/j.measurement.2014.02.015