Channel hot-carriers degradation in MOSFETs: A conductive AFM study at the nanoscale

In this work, the gate stack electrical properties of fresh and channel-hot-carrier (CHC) stressed MOSFETs have been investigated at the nanoscale with a Conductive Atomic Force Microscope (CAFM). For the first time, by measuring on the bare oxide, the CAFM has allowed evaluation of the degradation induced along the channel by a previous CHC stress. In particular, higher gate leakage was measured close to source and drain, which has been related to NBTI and CHC degradation, respectively.