Different types of defects in silicon dioxide characterized by their transient behavior

In this article we report results on the physical properties of defect leve ls generated by high-field stress in silicon dioxide. Carrier separation ex periments were performed in p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor transistors , measuring the transient and steady-state leakage currents. Different tran sient behaviors are observed in the channel and substrate currents, indicat ing that different kinds of traps are involved in the transient and steady- state leakage currents. This conclusion is also supported by time-relaxatio n experiments, where it is shown that the components of the current feature different relaxation behaviors. The impact of these results on the modelin g of stress-induced leakage conduction is also addressed. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.