Comprehensive physics-based breakdown model for reliability assessment of oxides with thickness ranging from 1 nm up to 12 nm

The state-of-art understanding on the TBD voltage acceleration models in direct tunneling (DT) and Fowler- Nordheim (FN) regimes is thoroughly and carefully reviewed including recent work on thin oxides as well as historical publication database for thick oxides. The field-driven TBD exponential law is found to be inconsistent with many experimental findings. We present a comprehensive physicsbased breakdown model, which separately takes the roles of tunneling current and defect generation efficiency into account, and it is consistent with many experimental findings for thickness from 1.0nm to 12nm. With these new advanced understandings, we can now resolve many controversies surrounding TBD voltage acceleration models for SiO2-based dielectrics. Finally, a practical solution of acceleration model for TDDB qualification is proposed.

[1]  J. Stathis.  Percolation models for gate oxide breakdown , 1999 .

[2]  W. Abadeer,et al.  Modelling considerations and development of upper limits of stress conditions for dielectric breakdown projections , 1996 .

[3]  A. Haggag,et al.  Physical model for the power-law voltage and current acceleration of TDDB , 2005, Microelectron. Reliab..

[4]  Chenming Hu,et al.  Metal‐oxide‐semiconductor field‐effect‐transistor substrate current during Fowler–Nordheim tunneling stress and silicon dioxide reliability , 1994 .

[5]  C. Hu,et al.  Modeling CMOS tunneling currents through ultrathin gate oxide due to conduction- and valence-band electron and hole tunneling , 2001 .

[6]  Jordi Suñé,et al.  On the Weibull shape factor of intrinsic breakdown of dielectric films and its accurate experimental determination. Part II: experimental results and the effects of stress conditions , 2002 .

[7]  Guido Groeseneken,et al.  A consistent model for the thickness dependence of intrinsic breakdown in ultra-thin oxides , 1995, Proceedings of International Electron Devices Meeting.

[8]  M. Kerber,et al.  Voltage Acceleration of TBD and Its Correlation to Post Breakdown Conductivity of N- and P-Channel MOSFETs , 2006, 2006 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings.

[9]  J. Sune,et al.  Mechanisms of hydrogen release in the breakdown of SiO/sub 2/-based gate oxides , 2005, IEEE InternationalElectron Devices Meeting, 2005. IEDM Technical Digest..

[10]  J. McPherson,et al.  Molecular model for intrinsic time-dependent dielectric breakdown in SiO2 dielectrics and the reliability implications for hyper-thin gate oxide , 2000 .

[11]  J.W. McPherson,et al.  Disturbed bonding states in SiO/sub 2/ thin-films and their impact on time-dependent dielectric breakdown , 1998, 1998 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings. 36th Annual (Cat. No.98CH36173).

[12]  E. Rosenbaum,et al.  Gate oxide reliability under ESD-like pulse stress , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[13]  K. Shiga,et al.  Study of oxide breakdown under very low electric field , 1999, 1999 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings. 37th Annual (Cat. No.99CH36296).

[14]  A. Ghetti,et al.  Field acceleration for oxide breakdown-can an accurate anode hole injection model resolve the E vs. 1/E controversy? , 2000, 2000 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings. 38th Annual (Cat. No.00CH37059).

[15]  G. Reimbold,et al.  Analysis of oxide breakdown mechanism occurring during ESD pulses , 2000, 2000 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings. 38th Annual (Cat. No.00CH37059).

[16]  Jordi Suñé,et al.  Experimental evidence of T/sub BD/ power-law for voltage dependence of oxide breakdown in ultrathin gate oxides , 2002 .

[17]  Jordi Suñé,et al.  Power-law voltage acceleration: A key element for ultra-thin gate oxide reliability , 2005, Microelectron. Reliab..

[18]  A. Vayshenker,et al.  Breakdown measurements of ultra-thin SiO/sub 2/ at low voltage , 2000, 2000 Symposium on VLSI Technology. Digest of Technical Papers (Cat. No.00CH37104).

[19]  Shih-Hsien Lo,et al.  Tunneling current characteristics and oxide breakdown in P+ poly gate PFET capacitors , 2000, 2000 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings. 38th Annual (Cat. No.00CH37059).

[20]  Rolf-Peter Vollertsen,et al.  Voltage acceleration and t63.2 of 1.6-10 nm gate oxides , 2004, Microelectron. Reliab..

[21]  T. Pompl,et al.  Change of acceleration behavior of time-dependent dielectric breakdown by the BEOL process: indications for hydrogen induced transition in dominant degradation mechanism , 2005, 2005 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium, 2005. Proceedings. 43rd Annual..

[22]  K. Olasupo,et al.  Time dependent breakdown of ultrathin gate oxide , 2000 .

[23]  Rainer Duschl,et al.  Reliability aspects of Hf-based capacitors: Breakdown and trapping effects , 2007, Microelectron. Reliab..

[24]  R.-P. Vollertsen,et al.  Long term gate dielectric stress -- a timely method? , 2006, 2006 International Electron Devices Meeting.

[25]  Ernest Y. Wu,et al.  Determination of ultra-thin oxide voltages and thickness and the impact on reliability projection , 1997, 1997 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings. 35th Annual.

[26]  M. Trentzsch,et al.  Tunneling Effective Mass of Electrons in Lightly N-Doped $\hbox{SiO}_{x} \hbox{N}_{y}$ Gate Insulators , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[27]  G. Ghibaudo,et al.  New Understanding on the Breakdown of High-K Dielectric Stacks using Multi-Vibrational Hydrogen Release Model , 2007, 2007 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings. 45th Annual.

[28]  D. Dimaria,et al.  Explanation for the polarity dependence of breakdown in ultrathin silicon dioxide films , 1996 .

[29]  K. Banerjee,et al.  Comparison of E and 1/E TDDB models for SiO/sub 2/ under long-term/low-field test conditions , 1998, International Electron Devices Meeting 1998. Technical Digest (Cat. No.98CH36217).

[30]  A.T. Krishnan,et al.  The Traps that cause Breakdown in Deeply Scaled SiON Dielectrics , 2006, 2006 International Electron Devices Meeting.

[31]  Karl Hess,et al.  Reliability scaling issues for nanoscale devices , 2003 .

[32]  R. Degraeve,et al.  Oxide and interface degradation and breakdown under medium and high field injection conditions: a correlation study , 1995 .

[33]  W. R. Hunter,et al.  Experimental evidence for voltage driven breakdown models in ultrathin gate oxides , 2000, 2000 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings. 38th Annual (Cat. No.00CH37059).

[34]  Jordi Suñé,et al.  Modeling the breakdown and breakdown statistics of ultra-thin SiO2 gate oxides , 2001 .

[35]  J. Kurihara,et al.  Breakdown Voltage Prediction of Ultra-Thin Gate Insulator in Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) Based on Anode Hole Injection Model , 2006, 2006 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings.

[36]  Bonnie E. Weir,et al.  Gate dielectric breakdown in the time-scale of ESD events , 2005, Microelectron. Reliab..

[37]  J. Sune,et al.  New physics-based analytic approach to the thin-oxide breakdown statistics , 2001, IEEE Electron Device Letters.

[38]  James Stasiak,et al.  Trap creation in silicon dioxide produced by hot electrons , 1989 .

[39]  D. Dimaria,et al.  Electron energy dependence of metal-oxide-semiconductor degradation , 1999 .

[40]  M. Kimura,et al.  Oxide breakdown mechanism and quantum physical chemistry for time-dependent dielectric breakdown , 1997, 1997 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings. 35th Annual.

[41]  Bin Wang,et al.  Reliability of ultrathin silicon dioxide under combined substrate hot-electron and constant voltage tunneling stress , 2000 .

[42]  Prasad Chaparala,et al.  Field and temperature acceleration of time-dependent dielectric breakdown in intrinsic thin SiO/sub 2/ , 1994, Proceedings of 1994 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium.

[43]  Thomas Pompl,et al.  Voltage acceleration of time-dependent breakdown of ultra-thin gate dielectrics , 2005, Microelectron. Reliab..

[44]  W. W. Abadeer,et al.  Correlation between theory and data for mechanisms leading to dielectric breakdown , 1994, Proceedings of 1994 VLSI Technology Symposium.

[45]  M. Kerber,et al.  From wafer-level gate-oxide reliability towards ESD failures in advanced CMOS technologies , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[46]  N. Shiono,et al.  A lifetime projection method using series model and acceleration factors for TDDB failures of thin gate oxides , 1993, 31st Annual Proceedings Reliability Physics 1993.

[47]  C. Hu,et al.  A unified gate oxide reliability model , 1999, 1999 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings. 37th Annual (Cat. No.99CH36296).

[48]  Thomas Pompl,et al.  Reliability aspects of gate oxide under ESD pulse stress , 2007, 2007 29th Electrical Overstress/Electrostatic Discharge Symposium (EOS/ESD).

[49]  P.J. Silverman,et al.  Explanation of stress-induced damage in thin oxides , 1998, International Electron Devices Meeting 1998. Technical Digest (Cat. No.98CH36217).

[50]  J. Suñé,et al.  Hydrogen-release mechanisms in the breakdown of thin SiO2 films. , 2004, Physical review letters.

[51]  J. Jopling,et al.  Dielectric breakdown in a 45 nm high-k/metal gate process technology , 2008, 2008 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium.

[52]  A. Hiraiwa,et al.  Thickness-dependent power-law of dielectric breakdown in ultrathin NMOS gate oxides , 2005 .

[53]  Rolf-Peter Vollertsen,et al.  Thin dielectric reliability assessment for DRAM technology with deep trench storage node , 2003, Microelectron. Reliab..

[54]  G. Ghibaudo,et al.  Modelling charge to breakdown using hydrogen multivibrational excitation (thin SiO/sub 2/ and high-k dielectrics) [MOS devices] , 2004, IEEE International Integrated Reliability Workshop Final Report, 2004.

[55]  R.-P. Vollertsen,et al.  Voltage acceleration of oxide breakdown in the sub-10 nm Fowler-Nordheim and direct tunneling regime , 2005, 2005 IEEE International Integrated Reliability Workshop.