Physical mechanism of progressive breakdown in gate oxides

Liang

Shi

et al. 2018

Adv Elect Materials

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Multilayer hexagonal boron nitride (h‐BN) is an insulating 2D material that shows good interaction with graphene and MoS2, and it is considered a very promising dielectric for future 2D‐materials‐based electronic devices. Previous studies analyzed the dielectric properties of thick (>10 nm) mechanically exfoliated h‐BN nanoflakes (diameter < 20 μm) via conductive atomic force microscopy and applying very high voltages (>10 V); however, these methods are not scalable. In this work, the first device‐level reliability study of large area h‐BN dielectric stacks (grown via chemical vapor deposition) is presented, and the complete dielectric breakdown (BD) process is described. The experiments and calculations indicate that the BD process in metal/h‐BN/metal devices starts with a progressive current increase across the h‐BN stack until current densities up to 0.1 A cm−2 are reached. After that, the currents increase by sudden steps, which can be large (>1 order of magnitude, related to the BD of one/few h‐BN layers) or small (<1 order of magnitude, related to the lateral propagation of the BD). The bimodal BD process of h‐BN here presented (which cannot be detected via conductive atomic force microscopy) is essential to understand the reliability of 2D‐material‐based electronic devices using h‐BN as dielectric.

Section: Physical Interpretation Of Progressive Breakdownmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Physical Interpretation Of Progressive Breakdownmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Bimodal Dielectric Breakdown in Electronic Devices Using Chemical Vapor Deposited Hexagonal Boron Nitride as Dielectric

Liang

Shi

et al. 2018

Adv Elect Materials

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“…1 in the range of 1 nA -100 A IV. MODELWe propose a model[23] which can explain t numerous orders of magnitude among the gateFig. 2, in good agreement with the experime basic idea is that the progressive BD transi electro-migration effect providing diffusion o anode atoms into the gate dielectric in the r spot.…”

mentioning

confidence: 62%

“…There is also a strong dependence on tox, and on V and T. So, to use Eq. (4) we need to model I BD and D. We model I BD by fitting experimental I BD -V characteristics with simple analytical curves, as described in [23]. To model D we need first to model the temperature in the BD spot and for that we analytically solve the heat diffusion equation.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

General features of progressive breakdown in gate oxides: A compact model

2015 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium

Eizenberg

Lombardo³

2015

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We show and discuss some general features of dielectric breakdown of ultra-thin gate oxides for CMOS. We discuss III-V devices with high-k/metal gate, and compare to more classical structures with silicon substrates, SiOxNy or highk as gate dielectrics, and poly-Si or metal gate. A model of the breakdown growth dependence on voltage, temperature, oxide thickness, etc., is discussed and compared to data.

A Review on Dielectric Breakdown in Thin Dielectrics: Silicon Dioxide, High‐k, and Layered Dielectrics

Wen

Lombardo

et al. 2019

Adv Funct Materials

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164

104

Thin dielectric films are essential components of most micro-and nanoelectronic devices, and they have played a key role in the huge development that the semiconductor industry has experienced during the last 50 years. Guaranteeing the reliability of thin dielectric films has become more challenging, in light of strong demand from the market for improved performance in electronic devices. The degradation and breakdown of thin dielectrics under normal device operation has an enormous technological importance and thus it is widely investigated in traditional dielectrics (e.g., SiO 2 , HfO 2 , and Al 2 O 3 ), and it should be further investigated in novel dielectric materials that might be used in future devices (e.g., layered dielectrics). Understanding not only the physical phenomena behind dielectric breakdown but also its statistics is crucial to ensure the reliability of modern and future electronic devices, and it can also be cleverly used for other applications, such as the fabrication of new-concept resistive switching devices (e.g., nonvolatile memories and electronic synapses). Here, the fundamentals of the dielectric breakdown phenomenon in traditional and future thin dielectrics are revised. The physical phenomena that trigger the onset, structural damage, breakdown statistics, device reliability, technological implications, and perspectives are described.