No abstract

tSignetics Co., MIS 20, 9201 Pan American Fwy., Albuquerque, NM 87113 ABSTRMT A unique statistical approach to hot-carrier lifetime estimates is proposed. Unlike previous work, this approach emphasizes the inherent variability in IC processing. As a result, log-normal distributions of hot-carrier lifetimes in micron and submicron n-channel MOS transistors are presented for the first time. It is also shown that the variation in these distributions can be independent of stress voltage. Therefore, accelerated voltage tests can be used to quickly gather statistical data. Without this statistical information, conventional lifetime techniques significantly overestimate the hot-carrier lifetime.