New insight on the frequency dependence of TDDB in high-k/metal gate stacks

This paper deals with the oxide breakdown (BD) under positive gate voltage in nMOS Devices. First, bulk current is shown to be more sensitive than gate current for breakdown event detection. Then, since test interruption is shown to induce possible error in TBD evaluation, a methodology with an on the fly detection of breakdown is proposed for both DC and AC stresses. Finally, a discussion on the impact of charge trapping/detrapping is opened.