Observation of oxide breakdown and its effects on the characteristics of ultra-thin-oxide nMOSFET's

Ultra-thin gate oxide breakdown in nMOSFET's has been studied for an oxide thickness of 1.5 nm using constant voltage stressing. The pre- and post-oxide breakdown characteristics of the device have been compared, and the results have shown a strong dependence on the breakdown locations. The oxide breakdown near the source/drain-to-gate overlap regions was found to be more severe on the post-breakdown characteristics of the device than breakdown in the channel. This observation may be related to the dependence of breakdown on the distribution of electric field and areas of different regions within the nMOSFET under stress.