STRESS-INDUCED LEAKAGE CURRENT IN ULTRA-THIN GATE OXIDES AFTER CONSTANT-CURRENT STRESS

Constant current stress induced leakage currents are studied in very t hin oxide devices, for both stress polarities. This current has been i nvestigated for both positive and negative gate voltage measurements. Stress induced leakage current (SILC) physical nature has been studied and an interpretation has been proposed, considering local oxide weak spots with barrier height close to 1eV. The increasing rate of the SI LC versus the injection dose has been studied and compared with the de gradation positive charge build-up rate, observed in the same oxide, i ndicating that hole trapping and stress induced leakage current could have the same physical origin.