Simulation of hot electron induced degradation in silicon bipolar transistors

A hot electron degradation model for bipolar transistors is presented which calculates the damage on a spatially-dependent, two-dimensional, microscopic level. The model first uses a hydrodynamic transport model to calculate the hot electron current density. Then the number of active interface states formed by these hot electrons is determined and the surface recombination velocity is found. Using the surface recombination velocity, the degraded characteristics and subsequent device lifetime of the bipolar transistor are determined. The model has utility in the prediction of device lifetime degradation due to hot electrons as the geometry, doping profile, temperature and stressing/operating conditions are varied.<>