Title :
An accurate discrimination method of gate oxide breakdown positions by a new test structure of MOS capacitors
Author :
Uchida, Hidetsugu ; Ikeda, Satoshi ; Hirashita, Norio
Author_Institution :
Oki Electr. Ind. Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan
Abstract :
A new structure of MOS capacitors for discrimination of gate oxide breakdown positions is proposed. The characteristic of this test structure is that Al marks to discriminate the positions are lined up diagonally. Oxide breakdown spots determined by using the test structure are investigated by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) for a 5 nm-thick gate oxide. From these observations, this test structure is found to be useful for XTEM specimen preparation to analyze degradation phenomena of thin gate oxides
Keywords :
MOS capacitors; dielectric thin films; integrated circuit reliability; integrated circuit testing; semiconductor device breakdown; semiconductor device metallisation; specimen preparation; transmission electron microscopy; 5 nm; Al marks; Al-SiO2-Si; MOS capacitors; XTEM; XTEM specimen preparation; cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy; degradation phenomena; discrimination method; gate oxide; gate oxide breakdown positions; oxide breakdown spots; position discrimination; test structure; thin gate oxides; Breakdown voltage; Circuit testing; Dielectric breakdown; Dielectric films; Electric breakdown; Electrodes; MOS capacitors; Optical microscopy; Performance analysis; Transmission electron microscopy;
Conference_Titel :
Microelectronic Test Structures, 2001. ICMTS 2001. Proceedings of the 2001 International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Kobe
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-6511-9
DOI :
10.1109/ICMTS.2001.928667
