Angular and Strain Dependence of Heavy-Ions Induced Degradation in SOI FinFETs

We studied the short- and long-term effects of heavy-ion strikes on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) FinFET devices manufactured in a sub 32-nm CMOS process. The degradation of the device DC characteristics after irradiation strongly depends on the incidence angle, strain, and channel type, depending on the balance between damage to the high-k gate oxide and to the buried oxide. The time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) and the device parameter degradation kinetics are affected by the LET, ion fluence, and incidence angle. A reduction in TDDB is observed in irradiated FinFETs with respect to unirradiated ones.