A comprehensive physical model of oxide wearout and breakdown involving trap generation, charging, and discharging

The trap generation in oxides between 5 nm and 13.5 nm thick has been measured as a function of the oxide electric field, the oxide thickness, the stress time, and the electron fluence during constant voltage stresses. It was found that the trap generation could be accurately described by an Eyring equation of the form N_T=N ₀ exp ((-0.32+0.012 E₀)/kT)·t^0,2. Here, N_T is the trap density, N₀ is approximately 1/10 the density of Si-O-Si bridging bonds, E₀ is the electric field in MV/cm, kT is the thermal energy, and t is the stress time in sec. This Eyring formulation for the trap density helps explain the success of the Eyring formulation for oxide breakdown and supports the electric field (E-model) of oxide breakdown