Relationship between hole trapping and interface state generation in metal‐oxide‐silicon structures

We have discovered a general relationship between the location of trapped holes and the subsequent generation of interface states. Experimentally, we find that a hole can become an interface state, but it must first be trapped between 20 and 70 A from the Si/SiO2 interface (near‐interfacial hole trap) and then transfer to within 18 A of the interface (interfacial trapped holes). Finally, the hole captures an electron and becomes an interface state. The transfer process between near‐interfacial and interfacial trapped holes does not seem to be a simple release‐capture process. Rather it appears to involve a complicated migration of the trapped hole defect towards the interface. Radiation‐hardened oxides are shown to have a similar number of near‐interfacial traps, but these traps are shallower than those in the soft oxides.

[1]  R. E. Mikawa,et al.  Structural damage at the Si/SiO2 interface resulting from electron injection in metal‐oxide‐semiconductor devices , 1985 .

[2]  W. C. Johnson,et al.  Relationship between x‐ray‐produced holes and interface states in metal‐oxide‐semiconductor capacitors , 1983 .

[3]  P. S. Winokur,et al.  Comparison of interface-state buildup in MOS capacitors subjected to penetrating and nonpenetrating radiation , 1976 .

[4]  S. Lai,et al.  Two‐carrier nature of interface‐state generation in hole trapping and radiation damage , 1981 .

[5]  S. Lyon,et al.  Amphoteric defects at the Si‐SiO2 interface , 1986 .

[6]  Stephen Aplin Lyon,et al.  Location of positive charge trapped near the Si‐SiO2 interface at low temperature , 1986 .

[7]  G. F. Derbenwick,et al.  Vacuum Ultraviolet Radiation Effects in SiO2 , 1971 .

[8]  Patrick M. Lenahan,et al.  Electron spin resonance study of high field stressing in metal‐oxide‐silicon device oxides , 1986 .

[9]  A. S. Grove,et al.  Effects of ionizing radiation on oxidized silicon surfaces and planar devices , 1967 .

[10]  S. Lyon,et al.  Cycling of defects between trapped negative charge and interface states at the Si‐SiO2 interface , 1987 .

[11]  Patrick M. Lenahan,et al.  An electron spin resonance study of radiation‐induced electrically active paramagnetic centers at the Si/SiO2 interface , 1983 .

[12]  F. J. Grunthaner,et al.  Radiation-Induced Defects in SiO2 as Determined with XPS , 1982, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science.

[13]  F. B. McLean.  A Framework for Understanding Radiation-Induced Interface States in SiO2 MOS Structures , 1980, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science.

[14]  M. C. Adams,et al.  Time resolved fluorescence of trans‐Stilbene in the picosecond regime , 1979 .