The temperature effect of degradation in tunneling and conventional silicon dioxides

The charge to breakdown (Q_BD) was studied as functions of both temperature and current injection level under stress for tunnel anneal (40 Å) and conventional (103 Å) silicon dioxide (SiO ₂) in the metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) system. The charge to breakdown is almost independent of current injection level at higher temperatures for 103 Å SiO₂ films although the Q_BD of 40 Å SiO₂ films strongly depends both on current level and on temperature. Higher activation energies were obtained for 40 Å oxides at lower temperatures (25°C-100°C), while larger activation energy was obtained for 103 Å oxides at higher temperatures (150°C-200°C)