Interface Instabilities

A review will be given of the instabilities of MOS field effect transistors caused by the time variation of the electrical properties of the Si-SiO2 interface during device life. Changes in interface properties can be accelerated by heating without bias and heating-with negative bias applied to the gate. The specific topics discussed will include how fixed oxide charge and interface trap densities change with accelerated aging, the effects of these changes on the characteristics of MOS field effect transistors, and how these changes can be minimized to achieve better reliability.