Electric field and temperature dependence of the stress induced leakage current: Fowler-Nordheim or Schottky emission?

The mechanism for the stress induced leakage current remains controversial. The aim of this work is to study the temperature dependence of the stress induced leakage current of 5.5 and 4 nm thick SiO2 oxides. From these tempe rature measurements an activation energy is extracted. By simulating the te mperature dependence of the stress induced leakage current it is demonstrat ed that only a Schottky-like thermionic emission law can fit simultaneously the dependence of the gate current and of the activation energy with gate voltage. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.