ON THE DECAY OF THE TRAPPED HOLES AND THE SLOW STATES IN METAL-OXIDE-SEMICONDUCTOR CAPACITORS

We have compared the charge created in p-metal-oxide-semiconductor cap acitors by Fowler-Nordheim injection from the gate and from the substr ate. We have shown that an injection from the gate creates a negative charge, trapped holes, and positively charged slow states whereas an i njection from the substrate creates a negative charge, slow states, an d amphoteric neutral traps; once charged these neutral traps are disch arged irreversibly, as are the trapped holes, by an appropriate gate b ias. We have observed that the discharge of the trapped holes, and the charge or discharge of the slow states, obey the same general law, bu t the time response of the trapped holes is always shorter than the ti me response of the slow states. This general law is equivalent to the so-called ''universal law,'' which is the law which describes the time dependence of current observed in any dielectric in response to a ste p-function field. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.