Oxide Degradation and Breakdown in Stressed MOS Capacitors

A new model that relates the degradation and breakdown phenomena of SiO
2
2 films has been presented. The crux of the model is that the trap generation rate is proportional to the energy lost by the electrons by interaction with the SiO
2
lattice. In this framework, the experimental evolution of the applied voltage in constant-current stress experiments and the quasi-linear relationship between log(time-to-breakdown) and log(current density) have been predicted.