Simulational study for gate oxide breakdown mechanism due to non-uniform electron current flow

Abstract

A novel simulator for plasma processing has been developed and applied to analyze the gate oxide damage during parallel plate oxygen RIE (reactive ion etching) (13.56 MHz). The TDDB (time-dependent dielectric breakdown) and flat band voltage shift of a poly-silicon gate nMOS capacitor were experimentally measured. The results suggest a new mechanism where a large electron current flow near the wafer edge induces the damage.<>