Accelerated testing of time-dependent breakdown of SiO2

Electric-field acceleration factor β is the slope of thelog (t_{BD})versus Eoxcurve, where tBDis the time to breakdown at oxide field Eox. We report that β is not a constant but proportional toEmin{ox}max{-2}. This is the main cause of the wide divergence of β values reported in the literature. The reported oxide thickness dependence of β is believed to be a result of the higher electron trap densities in thicker oxides. Oxide lifetime extrapolation usinglog (t_{BD}), or better,log (Q_{BD})against1/E_{ox}plots is more accurate and has a theoretical basis. Highly accelerated oxide testing appears to be feasible especially for very thin oxides.