The Use of Photoinjection to Determine Oxide Charge Distributions and Interface Properties in MOS Structures-Invited Paper

Determination of the distribution of oxide charge and interface properties is important to an understanding of oxide charging phenomena such as that produced by irradiation. The physical mechanism dominating the voltage dependence of photoinjected currents in SiO2 is the scattering of electrons in the region of the oxide between the injecting electrode and the image force potential maximum. Since the spatial position of the potential maximum depends on the electric field resulting from space charge in the oxide as well as the field due to the applied voltage, analysis of the V-I characteristics of photoinjected currents can provide information about the spatial location of oxide charge. Presented in this paper are the results of an analysis of the effects of oxide space charge on the voltage dependence of photoinjected currents. It is shown that charge distribution in SiO2 can be nondestructively profiled over a range from about ten to several hundred angstroms from the injecting electrode. Since photoinjection V-I characteristics depend on electric field at the potential maximum in the oxide, whereas C-V characteristics depend on the field just inside the semiconductor, analysis of both characteristics permits distinction between charge in t e oxide a distance greater than about 10 Ã… and charge located at the interface.