Goes, W;
Wimmer, Y;
El-Sayed, A-M;
Rzepa, G;
Jech, M;
Shluger, AL;
Grasser, T;
(2018)
Identification of oxide defects in semiconductor devices: A systematic approach linking DFT to rate equations and experimental evidence.
Microelectronics Reliability
, 87
pp. 286-320.
10.1016/j.microrel.2017.12.021.
Preview |
Text
Wolfgang_MR_final_6.pdf - Accepted Version Download (5MB) | Preview |
Abstract
It is well-established that oxide defects adversely affect functionality and reliability of a wide range of micro-electronic devices. In semiconductor-insulator systems, insulator defects can capture or emit charge carriersfrom/to the semiconductor. These defects feature several stable configurations, which may have profound im-plications for the rates of the charge capture and emission processes. Recently, these complex capture/emissionevents have been investigated experimentally in considerable detail in Si/SiO2 devices, but their theoreticalunderstanding still remains vague. In this paper we discuss in detail how the capture/emission processes can besimulated using the theoretical methods developed for calculating rates of charge transfer reactions betweenmolecules and in electro-chemistry. By employing this theoretical framework we link the atomistic defectconfigurations to known trapping model parameters (e.g. trap levels) as well as measured capture/emissiontimes in Si/SiO2devices. Using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we investigate possible atomisticconfigurations for various defects in amorphous (a)-SiO2 implicated in being involved in the degradation ofmicroelectronic devices. These include the oxygen vacancy and hydrogen bridge as well as the recently proposedhydroxyl′E center. In order to capture the effects of statistical defect-to-defect variations that are inevitablypresent in amorphous insulators, we analyze a large ensemble of defects both experimentally and theoretically.This large-scale investigation allows us to prioritize the candidates from our defect list based on their trapparameter distributions. For example, we can rule out the′Ecenter as a possible candidate. In addition, weestablish realistic ranges for the trap parameters, which are useful for model calibration and increase thecredibility of simulation results by avoiding artificial solutions. Furthermore, we address the effect of nucleartunneling, which is involved according to the theory of charge transfer reactions. Based on our DFT results, wedemonstrate the impact of nuclear tunneling on the capture/emission process, including their temperature andfield dependence, and also give estimates for this effect in Si/SiO2 devices.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Identification of oxide defects in semiconductor devices: A systematic approach linking DFT to rate equations and experimental evidence |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.microrel.2017.12.021 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.microrel.2017.12.021 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Technology, Physical Sciences, Engineering, Electrical & Electronic, Nanoscience & Nanotechnology, Physics, Applied, Engineering, Science & Technology - Other Topics, Physics, Charge trapping, RTN, Bias temperature instability, NBTI, PBTI, DFT, Charge transfer reactions, BIAS-TEMPERATURE INSTABILITIES, DENSITY-FUNCTIONAL THEORY, FIELD-EFFECT TRANSISTORS, RANDOM TELEGRAPH SIGNALS, FRANCK-CONDON FACTORS, ELECTRON-TRANSFER, OXYGEN VACANCIES, AMORPHOUS SILICA, 1ST-PRINCIPLES CALCULATIONS, NONRADIATIVE-TRANSITIONS |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10059836 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
