Neutral Electron Trap Generation and Hole Trapping in Thin Oxides under Electrostatic Discharge Stress

Abstract

Neutral electron trap generation and hole trapping under electrostatic discharge (ESD) stressing of thin oxides are investigated. The results show that the number of neutral electron traps generated by the ESD stress has an empirical power-law relation to the charge injected during ESD stress. Hole trapping is also shown to be linearly related to neutral electron trap generation, the slope of the straight line in a plot of the two quantities against each other being close to unity. This suggests that the hole traps and neutral electron traps originate from the same mechanism under ESD stress.

Hole injection with limited charge relaxation, lateral nonuniform hole trapping, and transient stress-induced leakage current in impulse-stressed thin (<5 nm) nitrided oxides

“…The former and latter defects act as a hole trap and a neutral trap, respectively. 30 During impulse stressing, numerous holes could be available for capture to form the high density of positive oxide trapped charges. Figures 15͑a͒ and 15͑b͒ show the energy band diagrams for a neutral trap in the oxide before and after the positive oxide charge trapping, respectively.…”