It was found that the breakdown times measured using time-dependent-dielect
ric-breakdown (TDDB) distributions could be shifted to shorter times when t
he amount of energy available during the breakdown event was increased. The
TDDB distributions were non-unique and breakdown models must account for b
oth electrical breakdowns and dielectric breakdown. A novel approach for ob
taining breakdown distributions will be presented. This approach uses a sma
ll number of oxides to obtain a time-dependent-electric-breakdown (TDEB) di
stribution, which will be shown to provide complementary information to tha
t obtained from (TDDB) distributions. While the observation of dielectric b
reakdown in ultra-thin dielectrics may be difficult using standard test con
ditions, it will be shown that electric breakdowns are relatively easy to o
bserve. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.