Voltage-Dependent Activation Energy Maps for Analytic Lifetime Modeling of NBTI Without Time Extrapolation

To enable MOSFETs lifetime extrapolation of up to 10 years, bias temperature instability (BTI) is commonly accelerated via increased stress voltage and increased temperature. We demonstrate that BTI can be described by a unique activation energy map including the voltage and temperature dependence of stress and recovery and use capture and emission time maps to model the time dynamics responsible for the threshold voltage shift of BTI. Based on this approach, we present a new measurement technique, further called temperature-accelerated measure-stress-measurements (TA-MSM) enabling lifetime modeling of BTI without any time extrapolation. We show the application of this technique to simulate standard qualification measurements, fast wafer-level reliability measurements as well as the degradation after ac and dc burn-in stress. In addition, we show that the TA-MSM technique is a valuable tool for the study of the permanent component and the recently discovered reverse recovery effect.

[1]  D. Schroder,et al.  Negative bias temperature instability: Road to cross in deep submicron silicon semiconductor manufacturing , 2003 .

[2]  V. Huard,et al.  Interface trap generation and hole trapping under NBTI and PBTI in advanced CMOS technology with a 2-nm gate oxide , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Device and Materials Reliability.

[3]  M. Denais,et al.  NBTI degradation: From physical mechanisms to modelling , 2006, Microelectron. Reliab..

[4]  H. Reisinger,et al.  Analysis of NBTI Degradation- and Recovery-Behavior Based on Ultra Fast VT-Measurements , 2006, 2006 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings.

[5]  A. Krishnan,et al.  Atomic-Scale Defects Involved in the Negative-Bias Temperature Instability , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Device and Materials Reliability.

[6]  T. Grasser,et al.  NBTI from the perspective of defect states with widely distributed time scales , 2009, 2009 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium.

[7]  M. Nelhiebel,et al.  In Situ Poly Heater—A Reliable Tool for Performing Fast and Defined Temperature Switches on Chip , 2010, IEEE Transactions on Device and Materials Reliability.

[8]  V. Huard.  Two independent components modeling for Negative Bias Temperature Instability , 2010, 2010 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium.

[9]  T. Grasser,et al.  The time dependent defect spectroscopy (TDDS) for the characterization of the bias temperature instability , 2010, 2010 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium.

[10]  M. Nelhiebel,et al.  Understanding temperature acceleration for NBTI , 2011, 2011 International Electron Devices Meeting.

[11]  B. Kaczer,et al.  Analytic modeling of the bias temperature instability using capture/emission time maps , 2011, 2011 International Electron Devices Meeting.

[12]  T. Grasser,et al.  Understanding and modeling AC BTI , 2011, 2011 International Reliability Physics Symposium.

[13]  Tibor Grasser,et al.  Stochastic charge trapping in oxides: From random telegraph noise to bias temperature instabilities , 2012, Microelectron. Reliab..

[14]  B. Kaczer,et al.  On the frequency dependence of the bias temperature instability , 2012, 2012 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium (IRPS).

[15]  T. Grasser,et al.  On the Distribution of NBTI Time Constants on a Long, Temperature-Accelerated Time Scale , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[16]  M. Nelhiebel,et al.  Accurate High Temperature Measurements Using Local Polysilicon Heater Structures , 2014, IEEE Transactions on Device and Materials Reliability.

[17]  T. Grasser,et al.  Hot-Carrier Degradation and Bias-Temperature Instability in Single-Layer Graphene Field-Effect Transistors: Similarities and Differences , 2015, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[18]  N. Horiguchi,et al.  Complete extraction of defect bands responsible for instabilities in n and pFinFETs , 2016, 2016 IEEE Symposium on VLSI Technology.

[19]  James H. Stathis.  The physics of NBTI: What do we really know? , 2018, 2018 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium (IRPS).

[20]  Tibor Grasser,et al.  Controversial issues in negative bias temperature instability , 2018, Microelectron. Reliab..

[21]  Tibor Grasser,et al.  Fast acquisition of activation energy maps using temperature ramps for lifetime modeling of BTI , 2018, 2018 48th European Solid-State Device Research Conference (ESSDERC).

[22]  B. Kaczera,et al.  A brief overview of gate oxide defect properties and their relation to MOSFET instabilities and device and circuit time-dependent variability , 2018 .