Suppression of hot-carrier degradation in Si MOSFETs by germanium doping

Presently there are two approaches to the reduction of hot-carrier effects in Si MOSFETs: the use of lightly-doped-drain/double-diffused-drain (LDD/DDD) structures and the reduction of applied bias. Both of these suffer certain penalties. A technique for incorporating Ge impurities in the channel that creates additional scattering so that 'lucky' hot carriers are less probable is introduced. Results indicate that while the initial MOSFET characteristics are maintained, the degradation rate under voltage stress is much reduced.<
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