Polarity dependence of thin oxide wearout

The properties of less than 10-nm-thick silicon oxide films have been measured as a function of substrate type, oxide thickness, stress polarity, stress voltage, geometry, and fluence to help define the physical processes involved in wearout and breakdown. Changes that have been observed in the I-V, I-t, and C-V characteristics of 10-nm-thick oxides on p-type substrates as a function of stress and measurement polarity are reported. The differences in trap generation and charge trapping that occur during and following the high-voltage stressing of thin oxides are discussed