Gate oxide thickness dependence of high-field-induced interface state generation in thin thermal oxides

The oxide thickness dependence of the high-field-induced interface state generation Delta D_it in the nanometre-range thin (6-10 nm) gate oxides prepared by rapid thermal oxidation have been studied. It is shown that Delta D_it is a strong function of the oxide thickness. The thickness dependence of Delta D_it is found to be a function of stress time. Physical mechanisms are discussed to account for the experimental results.