A direct demonstration of defect generation in ultrathin silicon dioxide fi
lms due to the transport of holes through this layer is reported. These def
ects are observed only when the hole current to the cathode of the device e
xceeds the electron current to the anode. This condition is produced on p-c
hannel field-effect transistors under negative gate-voltage-bias conditions
with ultrathin gate oxide layers. These results are related to current rel
iability models which use anode hole injection and the defects produced to
explain destructive breakdown of the oxide layer. (C) 2000 American Institu
te of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)04743-4].