A Conductive AFM Nanoscale Analysis of NBTI and Channel Hot-Carrier Degradation in MOSFETs

Abstract

This paper addresses the impact of different electrical stresses on nanoscale electrical properties of the MOSFET gate dielectric. Using a conductive atomic force microscope (CAFM) for the first time, the gate oxide has been analyzed after bias temperature instability (BTI) and channel hot-carrier (CHC) stresses. The CAFM explicitly shows that while the degradation induced along the channel by a negative BTI stress is homogeneous, after a CHC stress different degradation levels can be distinguished, being higher close to source and drain.