Ionizing irradiation effect on the current-voltage characteristics of the metal/ultra-thin oxide/semiconductor structures

In this paper, we analyse the ionizing irradiation influence on the charact eristic current-voltage (V < 0 and V > 0) of the metal/ultra-thin oxide/sem iconductor structures where the oxide thickness varies from 40 to 125 Angst rom. The results obtained show that this influence is significant on the cu rrent corresponding to the carrier injection by the semiconductor (V > 0). When the thickness of oxide is higher than 100 Angstrom, the radiation crea tes a positive charge in the oxide and decreases the conduction parameters (K-1 and K-2) For oxide thicknesses lower than 100 Angstrom, the radiation does not create any charge in the oxide but improves the conduction paramet ers. This is attributed to the beneficial effect of the radiation on the de fects characterizing an ultra-thin oxide layer.