On the correlation between SILC and hole fluence throughout the oxide

Stress-induced leakage current (SILC) has been recognized as a topic of con cern in flash memory reliability. It is a reliable failure mechanism, occur ring long before oxide breakdown and, hence, limiting oxide lifetime [1]. T he physical origin and mechanisms of SILC have not yet been clearly underst ood and several points open to discussion remain. In this work the role of oxide hole fluence in producing the SILC is discussed. An universal power l aw of SILC generation kinetics is proposed versus the hole fluence througho ut the oxide. The experimental results are theoretically validated by model ing the measured quantum-yield by the contributions of both anode hole inje ction and electron valence band injection mechanisms. (C) 1999 Elsevier Sci ence Ltd. All rights reserved.