Voltage scaling and temperature effects on drain leakage current degradation in a hot carrier stressed n-MOSFET

Abstract

Drain leakage current degradation at zero V/sub gs/ in a hot carrier stressed n-MOSFET is measured and modeled. The dependences of drain leakage current on supply voltage and temperature are characterized. In modeling, various drain leakage current mechanisms including drain-to-source subthreshold leakage current, band-to-band tunneling current and interface trap assisted leakage current are taken into account. The results show that interface trap induced leakage current appears to be a dominant drain leakage mechanism as the supply voltage is scaled below 3.0 V. Drain leakage current degradation by orders of magnitude has been observed due to hot carrier stress.