Experimental investigation of localized stress-induced leakage current distribution in gate dielectrics using array test circuit. (13th March 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Park, Hyeonwoo; Teramoto, Akinobu; Kuroda, Rihito; Suwa, Tomoyuki; Sugawa, Shigetoshi
• Is Part Of: Japanese journal of applied physics. Volume 57:Number 4(2018)Supplement
• Publication Date: 2018-03-13
• Subjects: Physics -- Periodicals; 621.05
• DOI: 10.7567/JJAP.57.04FE11
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0021-4922

Abstract

Abstract: Localized stress-induced leakage current (SILC) has become a major problem in the reliability of flash memories. To reduce it, clarifying the SILC mechanism is important, and statistical measurement and analysis have to be carried out. In this study, we applied an array test circuit that can measure the SILC distribution of more than 80, 000 nMOSFETs with various gate areas at a high speed (within 80 s) and a high accuracy (on the 10 −17 A current order). The results clarified that the distributions of localized SILC in different gate areas follow a universal distribution assuming the same SILC defect density distribution per unit area, and the current of localized SILC defects does not scale down with the gate area. Moreover, the distribution of SILC defect density and its dependence on the oxide field for measurement ( E OX-Measure ) were experimentally determined for fabricated devices.