Hot-carrier-injected oxide region and hot-electron trapping as the main cause in Si nMOSFET degradation

The gate oxide region affected by injected hot electrons and/or holes along the channel is experimentally determined. The oxide region varies with bias conditions, and the device degradation rate is correlated with the change in the hot-carrier injected region. Based on these results, the following degradation mechanism is proposed: 1) The degradations in transconductance, threshold voltage, and subthreshold slope can be caused mainly by trapped electrons, but not generated interface states. 2) Enhanced degradation due to both hot-electron and hole injections is caused by electrons trapped in neutral centers produced by hot-hole injection.