Charge transport in thin interpoly nitride/oxide stacked films

In this work, charge transport through interpoly thin nitride/oxide stacked films, including nitride/oxide dual- and oxide/nitride/oxide tri-layer films, was studied. Extensive experimental results, concerning current conduction in single oxide layer, single nitride layer, nitride/oxide dual-layer, and oxide/nitride/oxide tri-layer films are presented. An effective investigation of the various mechanisms that can explain current conduction and charge trapping in these dielectrics was performed. To this aim, different approaches to transport modeling, namely, a classical current continuity model, a transmission model, and a two-step trap assisted model are proposed. The gains and trade offs offered by each model are pointed out. A comprehensive model for the conduction mechanisms in thin nitride/oxide stacked films is proposed. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(99)08416-9].