Impact ionization, trap creation, degradation, and breakdown in silicon dioxide films on silicon

TLDR

Silicon dioxide films degrade mainly at interfaces with metals or semiconductors, driven by electron‑heated carriers that create traps or ionize the band gap at energies above 2 eV and 9 eV, linking ionization to defect‑induced degradation. The authors examine how defect generation depends on electric field, oxide thickness, temperature, voltage polarity, and processing, propose a method to isolate the two modes, and develop a unified kinetic model that agrees with experimental results. Oxide breakdown is correlated with interface softening caused by the cumulative defect generation from both trap creation and band‑gap ionization mechanisms.

Abstract

Degradation of silicon dioxide films is shown to occur primarily near interfaces with contacting metals or semiconductors. This deterioration is shown to be accountable through two mechanisms triggered by electron heating in the oxide conduction band. These mechanisms are trap creation and band-gap ionization by carriers with energies exceeding 2 and 9 eV with respect to the bottom of the oxide conduction band, respectively. The relationship of band-gap ionization to defect production and subsequent degradation is emphasized. The dependence of the generated sites on electric field, oxide thickness, temperature, voltage polarity, and processing for each mechanism is discussed. A procedure for separating and studying these two generation modes is also discussed. A unified model from simple kinetic relationships is developed and compared to the experimental results. Destructive breakdown of the oxide is shown to be correlated with ‘‘effective’’ interface softening due to the total defect generation caused by both mechanisms.