Analysis of drain breakdown voltage in SOI n-channel MOSFETs

The reduction of drain breakdown voltage in SOI nMOSFETs with floating substrate is related to the presence of a parasitic n-p-n bipolar structure, the base of which is the floating body of the device. reduction of breakdown voltage (compared to the case where a body contact is used) is shown to be dependent on both channel length and minority carrier lifetime in the SOI material. Conversely, it is shown that mere measurement of MOSFET breakdown voltages can be used to extract the minority carrier lifetime in the SOI material.