A Conductive AFM Nanoscale Analysis of NBTI and Channel Hot-Carrier Degradation in MOSFETs

Wu, Qian; Bayerl, A.; Porti, M.; Martín-Martínez, J.; Lanza, Mario; Rodrı́guez, R.; Velayudhan, V.; Nafría, M.; Aymerich, X.; González, Mireia Bargalló; Simoen, Eddy

doi:10.1109/ted.2014.2341315

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Normally, this kind of test is performed by depositing a top metallic electrode on the insulator, and this top electrode needs to be removed before the CAFM characterization. [31][32][33] Different methods to remove the top electrode have been suggested, including wet etching, 31 dry etching, 32 and even CAFM-tip-induced etching. 33 However, all of them provide poor controllability on the etching and can easily damage the surface of the insulator.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The degradation of 5–7 layer thick h-BN/CuNi stacks was induced by applying an homogeneous electrical field in a circular area of 40 μm diameter using the probe station; after that, the same area was scanned using a conductive atomic force microscope (CAFM, working in the contact mode) to map the degradation (increase of conductivity) induced in the insulating h-BN stack. Normally, this kind of test is performed by depositing a top metallic electrode on the insulator, and this top electrode needs to be removed before the CAFM characterization. − Different methods to remove the top electrode have been suggested, including wet etching, dry etching, and even CAFM-tip-induced etching . However, all of them provide poor controllability on the etching and can easily damage the surface of the insulator.…”

Section: Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dielectric Breakdown in Chemical Vapor Deposited Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Jiang

Shi

Hui

et al. 2017

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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Insulating films are essential in multiple electronic devices because they can provide essential functionalities, such as capacitance effects and electrical fields. Two-dimensional (2D) layered materials have superb electronic, physical, chemical, thermal, and optical properties, and they can be effectively used to provide additional performances, such as flexibility and transparency. 2D layered insulators are called to be essential in future electronic devices, but their reliability, degradation kinetics, and dielectric breakdown (BD) process are still not understood. In this work, the dielectric breakdown process of multilayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is analyzed on the nanoscale and on the device level, and the experimental results are studied via theoretical models. It is found that under electrical stress, local charge accumulation and charge trapping/detrapping are the onset mechanisms for dielectric BD formation. By means of conductive atomic force microscopy, the BD event was triggered at several locations on the surface of different dielectrics (SiO, HfO, AlO, multilayer h-BN, and monolayer h-BN); BD-induced hillocks rapidly appeared on the surface of all of them when the BD was reached, except in monolayer h-BN. The high thermal conductivity of h-BN combined with the one-atom-thick nature are genuine factors contributing to heat dissipation at the BD spot, which avoids self-accelerated and thermally driven catastrophic BD. These results point to monolayer h-BN as a sublime dielectric in terms of reliability, which may have important implications in future digital electronic devices.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dielectric Breakdown in Chemical Vapor Deposited Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Jiang

Shi

Hui

et al. 2017

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

Self Cite

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“…[183] Another interesting possibility is the application of set/reset stresses at the device level and later analyze the local conductivity changes via CAFM maps. [189] When using this method, it is very important to have a very large etching selectivity between the metallic electrode and the RS medium, otherwise the second one might be damaged, and the subsequent information collected via CAFM may not be accurate; and ii) the tip of the CAFM has been used to etch (scratch) the entire top metallic electrode, [190] and even the RS medium. Therefore, the top electrode needs to be removed before the CAFM scan.…”

Section: Wwwadvelectronicmatdementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, this was the first type of RS experiment conducted using CAFM, and allowed for the first time detecting the changes on the size and resistivity of single CFs. This is the most common method, and it has been also used to remove the gate electrode in field effect transistors to analyze the reliability of the gate oxide after electrical stresses . When using this method, it is very important to have a very large etching selectivity between the metallic electrode and the RS medium, otherwise the second one might be damaged, and the subsequent information collected via CAFM may not be accurate; and ii) the tip of the CAFM has been used to etch (scratch) the entire top metallic electrode, and even the RS medium.…”

Section: Device Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recommended Methods to Study Resistive Switching Devices

Lanza

Wong

Pop

et al. 2018

Adv Elect Materials

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496

434

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Resistive switching (RS) is an interesting property shown by some materials systems that, especially during the last decade, has gained a lot of interest for the fabrication of electronic devices, with electronic nonvolatile memories being those that have received the most attention. The presence and quality of the RS phenomenon in a materials system can be studied using different prototype cells, performing different experiments, displaying different figures of merit, and developing different computational analyses. Therefore, the real usefulness and impact of the findings presented in each study for the RS technology will be also different. This manuscript describes the most recommendable methodologies for the fabrication, characterization, and simulation of RS devices, as well as the proper methods to display the data obtained. The idea is to help the scientific community to evaluate the real usefulness and impact of an RS study for the development of RS technology.

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“…Since its invention in 1993 by Murrel et al [1], conductive atomic force microscopy (CAFM) has experienced continuous developments, and nowadays it has become one of the most powerful tools in studying the electrical properties of materials and devices at the nanoscale [2,3]. CAFM uses an ultra-sharp and conductive tip, which is typically made of Si and coated with a thin (<20 nm) metallic layer, located at the end of a cantilever that is put in contact with the sample under test.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Current Instabilities in Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy

et al. 2019

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Conductive atomic force microscopy (CAFM) is one of the most powerful techniques in studying the electrical properties of various materials at the nanoscale. However, understanding current fluctuations within one study (due to degradation of the probe tips) and from one study to another (due to the use of probe tips with different characteristics), are still two major problems that may drive CAFM researchers to extract wrong conclusions. In this manuscript, these two issues are statistically analyzed by collecting experimental CAFM data and processing them using two different computational models. Our study indicates that: (i) before their complete degradation, CAFM tips show a stable state with degraded conductance, which is difficult to detect and it requires CAFM tip conductivity characterization before and after the CAFM experiments; and (ii) CAFM tips with low spring constants may unavoidably lead to the presence of a ~1.2 nm thick water film at the tip/sample junction, even if the maximum contact force allowed by the setup is applied. These two phenomena can easily drive CAFM users to overestimate the properties of the samples under test (e.g., oxide thickness). Our study can help researchers to better understand the current shifts that were observed during their CAFM experiments, as well as which probe tip to use and how it degrades. Ultimately, this work may contribute to enhancing the reliability of CAFM investigations.

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A Conductive AFM Nanoscale Analysis of NBTI and Channel Hot-Carrier Degradation in MOSFETs

Cited by 9 publications

References 22 publications

Dielectric Breakdown in Chemical Vapor Deposited Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Dielectric Breakdown in Chemical Vapor Deposited Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Recommended Methods to Study Resistive Switching Devices

Understanding Current Instabilities in Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy

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