Physics of Trap Generation and Electrical Breakdown in Ultra-thin SiO2 and SiON Gate Dielectric Materials - Dissertation

Sep 17, 2026

Uploaded by Kyle

Physics of Trap Generation and Electrical Breakdown in Ultra-thin SiO2 and SiON gate dielectric materials presents nearly a decade of industrial reliability research for deeply scaled oxides. The work details voltage- rather than field-driven breakdown evidence in ultra-thin oxides, clarifies stressed-induced leakage mechanisms at low bias, and tests competing degradation models. It also verifies low-voltage anode hole injection plausibility, refines plasma nitridation reliability limits, and applies reaction-diffusion theory to TDDB stress with observed recovery under NMOS conditions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages193

Reading Time8 h 6 min

AccessFree to download

Summary

Stressed-induced leakage mechanisms

Breakdown theory validation

Low-voltage degradation and hole injection

Plasma nitridation and reliability scaling

TDDB reaction-diffusion and recovery effects

PHYSICS OF TRAP GENERATION AND ELECTRICAL BREAKDOWN IN ULTRA-THIN SiO2 AND SiON GATE DIELECTRIC MATERIALS Paul E. Nicollian Physics of Trap Generation and Electrical Breakdown in Ultra-thin SiO2 and SiON Gate Dielectric Materials Paul E. Nicollian TITLE: Physics of Trap Generation and Electrical Breakdown in Ultra-thin SiO2 and SiON Gate Dielectric Materials AUTHOR: Nicollian, Paul E. ISBN: 978-90-365-2563-3 KEYWORDS: Reliability, breakdown, TDDB, trap generation, dielectrics, oxide, oxynitrides, SiO2 , SiON, PNO. Copyright © 2007 by Paul E. Nicollian PHYSICS OF TRAP GENERATION AND ELECTRICAL BREAKDOWN IN ULTRA-THIN SiO2 AND SiON GATE DIELECTRIC MATERIALS DISSERTATION to obtain the degree of doctor at the University of Twente, on the authority of the Rector Magnificus, prof. dr. W. H. M. Zijm, on account of the decision of the graduation committee, to be publicly defended on Friday 31 August 2007 at 16.45 by Paul Edward Nicollian born on 1 September 1961 in Summit, New Jersey USA The dissertation has been approved by Promotor: prof. dr. J. Schmitz and Assistant Promotor: [prof. dr. ir. F. G. Kuper](prof. dr. ir. F. G. Kuper) To my Mother, Rose Nicollian COMPOSITION OF THE DOCTORAL COMMITTEE Chairman: prof. dr. W. H. M. Zijm University of Twente Secretary: prof. dr. K. Hoede University of Twente Promotor: prof. dr. J. Schmitz University of Twente Assistant Promotor: [prof. dr. ir. F. G. Kuper](prof. dr. ir. F. G. Kuper) University of Twente/NXP Internal Members: [prof. dr. ir. A. J. Mouthaan](prof. dr. ir. A. J. Mouthaan) University of Twente [prof. dr. ir. B. Nauta](prof. dr. ir. B. Nauta) University of Twente External Members: prof. dr. M. A. Alam Purdue University prof. dr. G. Groeseneken IMEC/Katholieke University prof. dr. J. Suñé University of Barcelona Autonoma ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In my professional journey, I have been fortunate in having the opportunity to spend the past 22 years in the employ of Texas Instruments Incorporated. In this environment, I have worked with, learned from, and been nurtured by many extraordinarily talented individuals. I have also benefited from interactions with researchers from other institutions. I would like to thank the following individuals for the collaborations, contributions, discussions, and mentoring that have improved my understanding of the field and/or enhanced the quality of my work: William R. Hunter, Anand T. Krishnan, Mark Rodder, Douglas T. Grider, Vijay K. Reddy, Ajith Amerasekera, George Brown, Sunil V. Hattangady, Rajesh B. Khamankar, Jerry C. Hu, Chris Bowen, Srinivasan Chakravarthi, Cathy A. Chancellor, Jerry Seitchek, Thomas Anderson, John Kuehne, and Kwame N. Eason of Texas Instruments; Donelli J. DiMaria, Ernest Y. Wu, and James H. Stathis from IBM; Ashraful Alam from Purdue University; Robin Degraeve from IMEC; Kin P. Cheung from Rutgers University; Eric. M. Vogel from the University of Texas at Dallas; John Suehle from the National Institute of Standards; and David J. Dumin from Clemson University. Management support provided by Srikanth Krishnan, Timothy Rost, James Ondrusek, Bharath Rajagopalan, Linton Salmon, David Spratt, Robert M. Wallace, and Robert Eklund is gratefully acknowledged. I would like to thank my Promotor Jurriaan Schmitz for bringing me into the University of Twente PhD program and guiding me through the dissertation process. The author gratefully acknowledges the time and effort of the entire doctorate committee in evaluating this work, including Jurriaan Schmitz from the University of Twente; Fred Kuper from the University of Twente/NXP; Ton Mouthaan from the University of Twente; Bram Nauta from the University of Twente; Ashraful Alam from Purdue University; Guido Groeseneken from IMEC/Katholieke University; and Jordi Suñé from the University of Barcelona Autonoma. This work was supported in its entirety by Texas Instruments Incorporated. All materials w

FAQs

What mechanism dominates stressed-induced leakage current below 5V in these ultra-thin films?

Below 5V stress, the dominant mechanism is tunneling via interface traps in films thinner than about 35 Å, enhancing the usefulness of SILC measurements as a probe of trap generation.

How does the dissertation address whether breakdown is driven by voltage or electric field?

It provides conclusive experimental proof supporting an IBM energy-driven breakdown model, showing breakdown is voltage-driven rather than field-driven in ultra-thin oxides.

What role do plasma nitridation and nitrogen profile play in reliability scaling?

Plasma nitridation significantly extends the reliability scaling limit of SiO2-based films; bulk trap generation is minimized and film reliability is optimized when the nitrogen profile is uniform.

Sep 17, 2026

Uploaded by Kyle