HOT-ELECTRON-INDUCED DEGRADATION OF FRONT AND BACK CHANNELS IN PARTIALLY AND FULLY DEPLETED SIMOX MOSFETS

The characteristics of the front and back channels of 1-mum-long SIMOX MOSFET's are measured before and after various types and periods of hot-electron stress, and a comparison between the induced degradations is made. The back channel degrades much more severely than the front channel for both partially depleted and fully depleted devices. Fully depleted MOSFET's (140 nm thick) are favorably contrasted with partially depleted ones (300 nm thick) as to their vulnerability to hot-carrier-induced damage. Although defects are always located at and / or near the interface of the stressed channel, they may influence the properties of the opposite channel (via interface coupling) in fully depleted MOSFET's.