Oxide breakdown model for very low voltages

3 Volt MOS ICs have arrived and the need to understand low voltage Si02 breakdown has taken on new urgency. Previous gate oxide lietime modeling has been based upon empirical 1/E or E models, however they are nct known to account for low voltage breakdown in ultra-thin oxides. We demonstrate a model based upon anode hot hole injection which explains the "thin" oxide breakdown that occurs at oxide voltages as low as 2.5 Volts, while converging to the "thick" oxide (x_ox ⩾ 12 nm), high-voltage breakdown of as well.