Interface traps density-of-states as a vital component for hot-carrier degradation modeling

Abstract

We refine our approach for hot-carrier degradation modeling based on a thorough evaluation of the carrier energy distribution by means of a full-band Monte–Carlo simulator. The model is extended to describe the linear current degradation over a wide range of operation conditions. For this purpose we employ two types of interface states, either created by single- or by multiple-electron processes. These traps apparently have different densities of states which is important to consider when calculating the charges stored in these traps. By calibrating the model to represent the degradation of the transfer characteristics, we extract the number of particles trapped by both types of interface traps. We find that traps created by the single- and multiple-electron mechanisms are differently distributed over energy with the latter shifted toward higher energies. This concept allows for an accurate representation of the degradation of the transistor transfer characteristics.