Observations of NBTI-induced atomic scale defects

We utilize a combination of MOSFET gate-controlled diode DC-IV measurements and a very sensitive electron spin resonance technique called spin-dependent recombination to observe and identify defect centers generated by NBTI in fully processed SiO₂-based pMOSFETs. In SiO₂ devices, the defects include two Si/ SiO ₂ interface silicon dangling bond centers (P_b0 and P_b1) and may also include an oxide silicon dangling bond center (E´). Our observations suggest that both P_b0 and P_b1 defects play major roles while the E´ defect plays a somewhat different role in the SiO₂ devices