Ultra-thin gate dielectrics: they break down, but do they fail?

We study breakdown in high-quality 2-7 nm gate dielectrics, and find that soft breakdown becomes more likely for thinner oxides and for oxides stressed at lower voltages. For 2 nm oxides, an increase in gate noise is the only precise indication of soft breakdown. For many applications, devices shoul...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Weir, B.E., Silverman, P.J., Monroe, D., Krisch, K.S., Alam, M.A., Alers, G.B., Sorsch, T.W., Timp, G.L., Baumann, F., Liu, C.T., Ma, Y., Hwang, D.
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
Breakdown voltage
Current density
Dielectric breakdown
Electric breakdown
Ellipsometry
Furnaces
Noise level
Testing
Thermal degradation
Thermal stresses
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Summary:We study breakdown in high-quality 2-7 nm gate dielectrics, and find that soft breakdown becomes more likely for thinner oxides and for oxides stressed at lower voltages. For 2 nm oxides, an increase in gate noise is the only precise indication of soft breakdown. For many applications, devices should remain functional with the level of gate noise we have observed, after soft breakdown.
ISSN:0163-1918
2156-017X
DOI:10.1109/IEDM.1997.649463