Experimental evidence for recombination-assisted leakage in thin oxides

Carrier separation experiments in degraded p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor devices reveal the occurrence of both electron and hole leakage processes. A detailed study of the excess currents as a function of time after stress, stress fluence, and polysilicon doping is presented. Evidence for a linear correlation between electron and hole leakage currents is provided, suggesting that the same defect species are responsible for both leakage phenomena. The dependence on polysilicon gate type confirms this explanation, supporting a leakage model based on trap-assisted tunneling and recombination in oxide traps. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)03213-7].