Total dose effects on the shallow-trench isolation leakage current characteristics in a 0.35 /spl mu/m SiGe BiCMOS technology

The effects of gamma irradiation on the shallow-trench isolation (STI) leakage currents in a SiGe BiCMOS technology are investigated for the first time, and shown to be strongly dependent on the irradiation gate bias and operating substrate bias. A positive irradiation gate bias significantly enhances the STI leakage, suggesting a strong field assisted nature of the charge buildup process in the STI. Numerical simulations also suggest the existence of fixed positive charges deep in the bulk along the STI/Si interface. A negative substrate bias, however, effectively suppresses the STI leakage, and can be used to eliminate the leakage produced by the charges deep in the bulk under irradiation.