Low-voltage hot-electron currents and degradation indeep-submicrometer MOSFETs |
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Authors: | Chung JE Jeng M-C Moon JE Ko P-K Hu C |
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Affiliation: | Dept. of Electr. Eng. & Comput. Sci., California Univ., Berkeley, CA; |
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Abstract: | Hot-electron currents and degradation in deep submicrometer MOSFETs at 3.3 V and below are studied. Using a device with L eff=0.15 μm and Tox=7.5 nm, substrate current is measured at a drain bias as low as 0.7 V; gate current is measured at a drain bias as low as 1.75 V. Using the charge-pumping technique, hot-electron degradation is also observed at drain biases as low as 1.8 V. These voltages are believed to be the lowest reported values for which hot-electron currents and degradation have been directly observed. These low-voltage hot-electron phenomena exhibit similar behavior to hot-electron effects present at higher biases and longer channel lengths. No critical voltage for hot-electron effects (such as the Si-SiO2 barrier height) is apparent. Established hot-electron degradation concepts and models are shown to be applicable in the low-voltage deep submicrometer regime. Using these established models, the maximum allowable power supply voltage to insure a 10-year device lifetime is determined as a function of channel length (down to 0.15 μm) and oxide thicknesses |
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