Modelling of the temperature and electric field dependence of substrate/gate current SILC with an elastic resonant trap assisted tunnelling mechanism

The understanding of the transport mechanism at the origin of the leakage currents in thin oxides is crucial to make reliable data retention predictions. In this work we demonstrate that elastic resonant trap assisted tunnelling well describes the SILC (Stress Induced Leakage Current) for oxide thicknesses between 4 and 7.5 nm when an appropriate trap profile is used. Moreover our approach gives a qualitative description of the temperature dependence of the SILC, exhibiting similar field dependent activation energy. Finally we showed that the SILC measured in the substrate current could also be modeled using a trap assisted tunnelling model, demonstrating that this approach is consistent with the main experimental characteristics of the SILC. © 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.