Irradiation of MIS Capacitors with High Energy Electrons

High-energy electron bombardment of Me-SiO2-Si and Me-Si3N4-Si capacitors has been investigated by means of C-V and G-V measurements. The bombardment usually results in the introduction of positive charge into the insulator. This effect is explained by a physical model which involves interaction of secondary electrons with the insulator lattice to generate electron-hole pairs and predominant trapping of holes in the insulator. Dependence of radiation sensitivity on initial surface state density, gate thickness, oxidation procedure, surface orientation, bombardment bias, and previous radiation history, as well as the annealing behavior was studied.