Tunneling current noise in thin gate oxides

We have examined fluctuations in the tunneling current of 3.5 Mm SiO2 barriers for voltages in the direct tunneling regime, We find a 1/f power law for the spectral density of the fluctuations where f is the frequency. This 1/f noise can be attributed to fluctuations of a trap assisted tunneling current through the pride that causes current noise but is not evident in the I-V curves. We suggest that this noise may be a more sensitive probe of trap assisted tunneling and degradation in thin oxides than other measures. At voltages above a threshold of 2.5 V, we observe the reversible onset of non-Gaussian current transients in the noise. The onset of these current transients can be related to a transition in the spacial uniformity of the tunneling current density that may result in eventual breakdown of the oxide. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.