A new wafer level reliability method for evaluation of ionic induced pmosfet drift effects

An ionic induced pMOSFET drift effect was investigated by deliberately enhancing the sodium concentration in interlevel dielectric layers.High frequency capacitance voltage and triangular voltage sweep (TVS) measurements as well as different bias temperature stress sequences were employed to show that the degradation is a two step process: sodium drift into active areas and charging of traps which were generated by sodium interactions with the semiconductor oxide interface.A special wafer level reliability method was developed which takes into consideration the two phase nature of the failure mechanism.     

PECVD淀积介质层对MOSFET性能的影响

通过对nMOS器件随天线比增加的阈值电压漂移、跨导变化,MOS电容在TDDB测试后的QBD退化分析来评估在RIE（Reactive Ion Etching）金属前PECVD-TEOS预淀积保护介质层的保护作用,实验结果表明此介质层没有起到足够的保护作用,反而会由于更长的等离子体工艺时间产生更严重的损伤问题。传统的电荷在硅片表面积累理论不足以解释此现象,本文从高能电子隧穿作用来分析此性能退化的原因。     

Capacitance Characterization of Elastomeric Dielectrics for Applications in Intrinsically Stretchable Thin Film Transistors

Stretchable electronics exhibit unique mechanical properties to expand the applications areas of conventional electronics based on rigid wafers. Intrinsically stretchable thin film transistor is an essential component for functional stretchable electronics, which presents a great opportunity to develop mechanically compliant electronic materials. Certain elastomers have been recently adopted as the gate dielectrics, but their dielectric properties have not been thoroughly investigated for such applications. Here, a charging measurement technique with a resistor–capacitor circuit is proposed to quantify the capacitance of the dielectric layers based on elastomers. As compared with conventional methods, the technique serves as a universal approach to extract the capacitance of various elastomers under static conditions, irrespective of the charging mechanisms. This technique also offers a facile approach to reliably quantify the mobility of thin film transistors based on elastomeric dielectrics, paving the way to utilize this class of dielectrics in the development of intrinsically stretchable transistors.     

Characteristic Instabilities in HfAlO Metal–Insulator–Metal Capacitors Under Constant-Voltage Stress

Time-dependent characteristic changes of metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors with HfAlO dielectric prepared by atomic-layer deposition under constant-voltage stress (CVS) were studied. It was found that relative dielectric constant , dielectric loss , temperature coefficient of capacitance , and frequency coefficient of capacitance gradually increase during CVS testing, whereas the voltage dependence of capacitance weakens. It was also found that changes in -value, , and during CVS testing linearly depend on changes in . These three linear relationships are basically explained by a dielectric-response model proposed for a ldquoflat-lossrdquo dielectric. That is, the increases in -value, , and are attributed to the dielectric-loss increase caused by voltage stress. Stress-time dependence of the dielectric-loss increase is expressed very well by a power function. That is, the power exponent obtained by a curve fitting linearly increases with stress voltage and decreases with increasing aluminum concentration in the HfAlO dielectric. This result indicates that aluminum addition into the HfAlO dielectric can improve the characteristic stabilities of a MIM capacitor under voltage stress.     

Transition voltage of AlGaN/GaN heterostructure MSM varactor with two-dimensional electron gas

It is not in principle clear which of the capacitors forming a varactor is responsible for the capacitance change at the transition voltage. We analyzed a theoretical case of transition voltage of the varactor formed by ideal Schottky diodes. Since real devices often do not behave strictly according to thermionic theory we also analyzed the transition voltage of experimental metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) varactor with a two-dimensional electron gas and an MSM varactor with a dielectric layer. We found that the transition voltage of the MSM varactor was determined by the reverse-biased diode of the varactor. A voltage drop on the forward-biased diode was too low to spill over electrons in the AlGaN layer and to reduce the capacitance of the structure. The transition voltage of the MSM varactor was therefore very close to – the threshold voltage of the single diode. The situation was different with the MSM varactor with higher leakage current or in MSM varactor with the dielectric layer. The voltage drop on the forward-biased diode is no more negligible and both parts of the varactor were polarized by voltage drops on them that were caused by direct current flow. In this case, the transition voltage of the varactor was enhanced by the voltage drop on the forward-biased diode. Since the transition voltage determines the voltage region in which the varactor protect circuit devices connected in series to the varactor the presented results may help to tune this voltage region.     

Alpha particle radiation effects in RF MEMS capacitive switches

The paper investigates the effect of 5 MeV alpha particle irradiation in RF MEMS capacitive switches with silicon nitride dielectric film. The investigation included MIM capacitors in order to obtain a better insight on the irradiation introduced defects in the dielectric film. The assessment employed the thermally stimulated depolarization currents method for MIM capacitors and the capacitance–voltage characteristic for MEMS switches. Asymmetric charging was monitored in MIM capacitors due different contact electrodes and injected charge interactions.     

Charging and discharging phenomena in electrostatically-driven single-crystal-silicon MEM resonators: DC bias dependence and influence on the series resonance frequency

This paper presents a first study concerned with charging and discharging phenomena in single crystal silicon MEM resonators. It is shown that the DC voltage required for the device operation induces a residual voltage between the resonator and its driving electrode, which is attributed to dielectric charging. The residual voltage can affect the device series resonance frequency and is determined from the measurements. The residual voltage maximum amplitude and the charging rate depend not only on the stressing voltage amplitude but also on the polarization.     

Bias temperature instability from gate charge characteristics investigations in N-Channel Power MOSFET

This paper reports the effects of bias temperature stress (positive and negative bias temperature instabilites, PBTI–NBTI) on threshold voltage, input capacitance and Miller capacitance of N-Channel Power MOSFET. The device is stressed with gate voltage under precision temperature forcing system. The bias temperature cycling also induces instabilities N-Channel Power MOSFET. The gate charge characteristics have been investigated before and after stress. The capacitances (the drain–gate and drain–source capacitances) are shifted due to the degradation of device physical properties under different stress time and stress temperature conditions. Bi-dimensional simulations have been performed for the 2D Power MOSFET structure and accurately analyzed. Gate charge characteristics of the device have been correlated to physical properties to analyze mechanisms responsible of parameter degradations. It is shown that the main degradation issues in the Si Power MOSFET are the charge trapping and the trap creation at the interface of the gate dielectric performed by energetic free carriers, which have sufficient energy to cross the Si–SiO₂ barrier.     

Analysis of reliability characteristics of high capacitance density MIM capacitors with SiO2-HfO2-SiO2 dielectrics

In this paper, reliability as well as electrical properties of high capacitance density metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor with hafnium-based dielectric is analyzed in depth. The fabricated MIM capacitor exhibits not only high capacitance density but also low voltage coefficient of capacitance (VCC) and low temperature coefficient of capacitance (TCC). It also has a low leakage current level of about ∼1 nA/cm² at room temperature and 1 V. However, it is shown that voltage linearity has a different dependence on the polarity of applied bias as temperature increases maybe due to the bulk traps between the metal electrode and high-k dielectric interface. In addition, the effect of charge trapping and de-trapping on the voltage linearity is analyzed under constant voltage stress.     

具有栅介质电场屏蔽作用的新型GaN纵向槽栅MOSFET器件设计

基于氮化镓(GaN)等宽禁带(WBG)半导体的金氧半场效应晶体管(MOSFET)器件在关态耐压下,栅介质中存在与宽禁带半导体临界击穿电场相当的大电场,致使栅介质在长期可靠性方面受到挑战。为了避免在GaN器件中使用尚不成熟的p型离子注入技术,提出了一种基于选择区域外延技术制备的新型GaN纵向槽栅MOSFET,可通过降低关态栅介质电场来提高栅介质可靠性。提出了关态下的耗尽区结电容空间电荷竞争模型,定性解释了栅介质电场p型屏蔽结构的结构参数对栅介质电场的影响规律及机理,并通过权衡器件性能与可靠性的关系,得到击穿电压为1 200 V、栅介质电场仅0.8 MV/cm的具有栅介质长期可靠性的新型GaN纵向槽栅MOSFET。     

Quantitative analysis of static capacitance contrast in scanning electron microscopy

A one-dimensional model is proposed for analysing static capacitance contrast (SCC) in scanning electron microscopy. For the large-scale integrated specimen covered by an insulating thin film, the imaging signal is calculated considering the redistribution of secondary electrons (SEs) and the charging process of the equivalent effective capacitance between the irradiation point and substrate. The calculated SCC as a function of the irradiation charge density is in good agreement with the experimental SCC. It is confirmed that the SCC arises from the redistribution of SEs and the difference in the effective capacitance of irradiation points under the condition of positive charging.     

Nanoscale Mapping of the Conductivity and Interfacial Capacitance of an Electrolyte-Gated Organic Field-Effect Transistor under Operation

Probing nanoscale electrical properties of organic semiconducting materials at the interface with an electrolyte solution under externally applied voltages is key in the field of organic bioelectronics. It is demonstrated that the conductivity and interfacial capacitance of the active channel of an electrolyte-gated organic field-effect transistor (EGOFET) under operation can be probed at the nanoscale using scanning dielectric microscopy in force detection mode in liquid environment. Local electrostatic force versus gate voltage transfer characteristics are obtained on the device and correlated with the global current–voltage transfer characteristics of the EGOFET. Nanoscale maps of the conductivity of the semiconducting channel show the dependence of the channel conductivity on the gate voltage and its variation along the channel due to the space charge limited conduction. The maps reveal very small electrical heterogeneities, which correspond to local interfacial capacitance variations due to an ultrathin non-uniform insulating layer resulting from a phase separation in the organic semiconducting blend. Present results offer insights into the transduction mechanism at the organic semiconductor/electrolyte interfaces at scales down to ≈100 nm, which can bring substantial optimization of organic electronic devices for bioelectronic applications such as electrical recording on excitable cells or label-free biosensing.     

温度对液晶盒电容的影响

液晶盒电容的大小与外加电压的数值相关。当液晶的温度发生变化时,即使施加的电压值一定,液晶盒的电容也会发生变化。为了研究温度的影响,采用交流电桥的方法对灌注5CB液晶的平行排列向列相液晶盒电容进行了实验测量,并由精密热台（LTS350,Linkam）控制液晶盒的温度,得到了不同温度下液晶盒的电压-电容特性曲线。由此可以看出：在大于阈值电压范围内,同一电压下液晶盒电容随温度的升高逐渐增加,并且曲线的斜率逐渐减小,说明液晶向各向同性态转变。此项研究对进一步分析液晶材料的介电常数有一定的指导意义。     

Charging-Effects in RF capacitive switches influence of insulating layers composition

The dielectric charging is one of the major failures reducing the reliability of capacitive switches with electrostatic actuation. Then the control of the charging/discharging processes is a key factor to allow a fast recovering of the dielectric after charging. From transient current measurements on MIM capacitors it is possible to select the best material for RF-MEMS.We have studied different PECVD silicon nitride obtained under low (380 KHz), high (13.56 MHz) or mixed (380kHz/13.56MHz) frequency power supply. The conduction mechanism into the dielectrics has been deduced from current measurements on MIM capacitors. Then the film properties have been studied by infrared measurement in order to identify the chemical bond into the dielectric which can explain the charging behaviour. It was observed that low hydrogen content in the films is in good correlation with electrical quality and kinetic of the charging/discharging processes.     

高电容比射频/微波MEMS膜开关的理论分析和数值模拟

建立了一个MEMS膜开关电容比理论模型，由于这个模型比较全面地考虑了开关阈值电压、维持电压、偏置电压和介质膜内的电场强度等因素对电容比的影响，因而能较为正确地反映开关的电容特性。用数值方法计算了影响开关电容比的因素，并对计算结果进行了分析和讨论。提出了使用脉冲电压作为偏置电压可以使介质膜gj的厚度减少到50nm，从而使开关的电容比增加到3800。最后，讨论了实现高电容比MEMS膜开关的可行性。     

Functional modelling of non-volatile MOS memory devices

A simple first-order model of semiconductor non-volatile memory (NVM) devices is formulated. Conduction through the dielectric layers is as usual described by a dielectric resistivity, ρ but unlike the usual models which describe ρ by theoretical expressions, we have chosen to obtain ρ from experimental data on MIS capacitors. It turns out that the empirical relations for ρ for the thin-film dielectric materials of interest (SiO₂, Si₃N₄ and Al₂O₃) can be well approximated by simple exponential dependences on electric field. This is responsible for the success of the present approach, since it leads to a further simplification in the analytical solution for threshold voltage shifts (using the well-known equivalent circuits of dual-dielectric structures) of NVM devices. It is shown that a wide variety of NVM structures can be described in terms of two technology parameters, β₁ and β₂, which contain the geometry, materials, and relevant parameters describing the charging (write/erase) mechanisms. No adjustable parameters are present. Predictions of threshold voltage shifts are found to be in reasonable agreement with experiment. This model is well suited to facilitate computer-aided-design (CAD) of NVM devices. While it is recognized that this model ignores several physical details (e.g. bulk charging of dielectric layers) and is therefore not universal, it nevertheless can be readily used to predict the first-order circuit behaviour of most NVM devices, when β₁ and β₂ are properly obtained.     

含氟三环NCS液晶材料的介电性能研究

为了探究液晶材料的介电性能,本文研究了4PPTGS和4PUTGS两种含氟三环NCS类液晶材料的介电各向异性和介电损耗。首先用精密LCR表(Agilent E4980A)测量液晶盒的电容并用双盒模型和液晶盒电容模型得到4PPTGS和4PUTGS两种液晶材料的平行和垂直介电常数,再由电压-电容特性曲线得到它们的阈值电压,并进一步探讨了介电各向异性和阈值电压对温度的依耐性;然后,在20 Hz~10kHz范围内研究了外加电压频率对液晶材料介电损耗的影响,两种液晶材料在1kHz左右都存在介电损耗峰值,为了减小器件的功耗和提升器件的质量,液晶材料应选择在介电损耗小的频率下工作;最后,通过对平行和垂直排列向列相盒中液晶材料在不同电压下介电损耗的测试与分析,介电损耗的变化是由于在外加电场下液晶分子固有偶极矩的取向极化引起的,介电损耗值的大小与液晶分子的排列状态密切相关。此项研究对提升液晶材料在应用中的介电性能具有一定的指导意义。     

Polyelectrolyte Dielectrics for Flexible Low‐Voltage Organic Thin‐Film Transistors in Highly Sensitive Pressure Sensing

Organic thin‐film transistors (OTFTs) can provide an effective platform to develop flexible pressure sensors in wearable electronics due to their good signal amplification function. However, it is particularly difficult to realize OTFT‐based pressure sensors with both low‐voltage operation and high sensitivity. Here, controllable polyelectrolyte composites based on poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and polyacrylic acid (PAA) are developed as a type of high‐capacitance dielectrics for flexible OTFTs and ultrasensitive pressure sensors with sub‐1 V operation. Flexible OTFTs using the PAA:PEG dielectrics show good universality and greatly enhanced electrical performance under a much smaller operating voltage of ?0.7 V than those with a pristine PAA dielectric. The low‐voltage OTFTs also exhibit excellent flexibility and bending stability under various bending radii and long cycles. Flexible OTFT‐based pressure sensors with low‐voltage operation and superhigh sensitivity are demonstrated by using a suspended semiconductor/dielectric/gate structure in combination with the PAA:PEG dielectric. The sensors deliver a record high sensitivity of 452.7 kPa^?1 under a low‐voltage of ?0.7 V, and excellent operating stability over 5000 cycles. The OTFT sensors can be built into a wearable sensor array for spatial pressure mapping, which shows a bright potential in flexible electronics such as wearable devices and smart skins.     

超级电容充电方法研究

基于项目的供电需求,本文通过电流检测运算放大器AD8210YRZ实时监测充电电流,其输出反馈至TPS5430DDA的检测引脚,进而调节了电容的充电电压。该电路结合超级电容的充放电特性,实现了低压时大电流恒流充电,电容端电压升高后采用恒压,逐步降低电流的充电方式。此方法有效合理地提高了超级电容的充电效率。通过常态性能和高低温试验,各项指标满足设计要求。该产品已投入使用,取得良好的效果,在工程应用中具有重要的意义。     

MOPA结构准分子激光电源的高精度电压控制研究

为了减小激光器双腔放电时间的相对抖动、稳定激光器输出能量,采用闭环控制回路电压泄放方法,设计了一套主振荡功率放大结构准分子激光谐振充电高精度电压控制方案。通过对电容电压取样处理,动态监测储能电容电压,当电容电压大于目标电压时,由泄放电路泄放电压至目标值,得到高精度的充电电压,使用此电压控制方案后,充电电压的波动由1.67减小到0.83。结果表明,该方案很好地提高了谐振电源储能电容上的电压精度,减小了激光器双腔放电时间的相对抖动,并为后期的激光器能量输出稳定控制打下良好基础。