Oxide Degradation and Breakdown in Stressed MOS Capacitors

A new model that relates the degradation and breakdown phenomena of SiO22 films has been presented. The crux of the model is that the trap generation rate is proportional to the energy lost by the electrons by interaction with the SiO2 lattice. In this framework, the experimental evolution of the applied voltage in constant-current stress experiments and the quasi-linear relationship between log(time-to-breakdown) and log(current density) have been predicted.