Title :
Differentiation between electric breakdowns and dielectric breakdown in thin silicon oxides
Author :
Jackson, J.C. ; Robinson, T. ; Oralkan, O. ; Dumin, D.J. ; Brown, G.A.
Author_Institution :
Clemson Univ., SC, USA
Abstract :
It has been known for some time that non-destructive electric breakdowns precede destructive thermal dielectric breakdown. We have been studying both processes in oxides between 5 nm and 80 nm in thickness. We have shown that the electric breakdowns can trigger dielectric breakdown under certain conditions. This triggering of dielectric breakdown causes TDDB distributions to be non-unique. The TDDB distributions could be shifted to shorter times if (a) the impedance of the test equipment was lowered and/or (b) the capacitance of the test equipment was raised. The implications of this work are discussed in terms of electric/dielectric breakdown models and practical circuit and device operation
Keywords :
dielectric thin films; electric breakdown; silicon compounds; 5 to 80 nm; SiO; TDDB distributions; breakdown models; constant voltage results; destructive thermal dielectric breakdown; dielectric breakdown triggering; electric breakdowns; nondestructive electric breakdown; ramped voltage results; thin silicon oxides; time-dependent dielectric breakdown; Breakdown voltage; Capacitance; Circuit testing; Dielectric breakdown; Dielectric measurements; Electric breakdown; Electric variables measurement; Electrical resistance measurement; Silicon; Test equipment;
Conference_Titel :
Physical & Failure Analysis of Integrated Circuits, 1997., Proceedings of the 1997 6th International Symposium on
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-3985-1
DOI :
10.1109/IPFA.1997.638180
