Total Recovery of Defects Generated by Negative Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI)

NBTI degradation is known to generate defects which can partially recover during a fast interruption. This paper investigates the hole de-trapping effect but also re-trapping kinetics and re-passivation of interface states. The comparison of relaxation at low and high temperatures allows us to conclude that the annealing at 300degC is a real recovery and healing of oxide defects. Indeed, interface states are totally re-passivated and hole traps are de-trapped but have also totally recovered. Furthermore, we show that the retrapping time of oxide traps is three times longer than their generation whatever the stress conditions and relaxation times.