Interactions between Interface Traps in Electron Capture/Emission Processes: Deviation from Charge Pumping Current Based on the Shockley–Read–Hall Theory

Abstract

We have, for the first time, successfully measured accurate charge pumping (CP) currents of individual metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) interface traps. Until now, it has generally been considered that the maximum CP current for a single trap is exactly f q based on the Shockley–Read–Hall (SRH) theory, where f is the gate pulse frequency used in the CP measurements, and q is the electron charge. However, we have discovered that the maximum current varies and is usually less than f q. From detailed experimental results, we concluded that the phenomenon is due to the interaction between individual traps in the capture/emission processes.