Non-destructive Prognosis Method Of Oxide Degradation- A Rapid Monitoring Of Oxide Energy Band Changes Cause By Semiconductor Processing

A new non-destructive method is proposed to characterize the gate insulator quality and degradation mechanism. In this method, a new parameter called "Protection Voltage", is extracted during Fowler-Nordheim (FN) stress on the gate insulator. By using capactor devices of 6nm thermal gate oxide on silicon substrate, this work found six useful characteristics of the "Protection Voltage" in oxide wearout measurements and understanding oxide energy band degradation mechanisms.