A model for MOS failure prediction due to hot-carriers injection

One of the main concerns in the submicron MOS technologies is the device lifetime associated with the hot carrier injection which causes the MOS to degrade. Many previous works have shown that the degradation is strongly related to the device substrate current. This paper develops a simple substrate current model and a comprehensive failure prediction model to predict the MOS lifetime as a function of channel length and applied drain voltage. Therefore, the transistor lifetime for different MOS geometries under various drain voltages can easily be determined. This model is useful for determining the channel length that will provide 10-20 years DC lifetime for the MOS technologies where current lifetime for the minimum channel length is much less than 10 years.