Anomalous random telegraph noise in nanoscale transistors as direct evidence of two metastable states of oxide traps

Guo, Shaofeng; Wang, Runsheng; Mao, Dongyuan; Wang, Yangyuan; Huang, Ru

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-06467-7

Cited by 20 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…This requires consideration of all interactions with the band states in the semiconductor substrate and the gate contact, as it has already been done for molecular conduction [40,41]. Furthermore, such a model must also account for the presence of additional defect states as suggested by various measurements [42,43].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of oxide defects in semiconductor devices: A systematic approach linking DFT to rate equations and experimental evidence

Goes

Wimmer

El-Sayed

et al. 2018

Microelectronics Reliability

121

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It is well-established that oxide defects adversely affect functionality and reliability of a wide range of microelectronic devices. In semiconductor-insulator systems, insulator defects can capture or emit charge carriers from/to the semiconductor. These defects feature several stable configurations, which may have profound implications for the rates of the charge capture and emission processes. Recently, these complex capture/emission events have been investigated experimentally in considerable detail in Si/SiO2 devices, but their theoretical understanding still remains vague. In this paper we discuss in detail how the capture/emission processes can be simulated using the theoretical methods developed for calculating rates of charge transfer reactions between molecules and in electro-chemistry. By employing this theoretical framework we link the atomistic defect configurations to known trapping model parameters (e.g. trap levels) as well as measured capture/emission times in Si/SiO2 devices. Using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we investigate possible atomistic configurations for various defects in amorphous (a)-SiO2 implicated in being involved in the degradation of microelectronic devices. These include the oxygen vacancy and hydrogen bridge as well as the recently proposed hydroxyl E center. In order to capture the effects of statistical defect-to-defect variations that are inevitably present in amorphous insulators, we analyze a large ensemble of defects both experimentally and theoretically. This large-scale investigation allows us to prioritize the candidates from our defect list based on their trap parameter distributions. For example, we can rule out the E center as a possible candidate. In addition, we establish realistic ranges for the trap parameters, which are useful for model calibration and increase the credibility of simulation results by avoiding artificial solutions. Furthermore, we address the effect of nuclear tunneling, which is involved according to the theory of charge transfer reactions. Based on our DFT results, we demonstrate the impact of nuclear tunneling on the capture/emission process, including their temperature and field dependence, and also give estimates for this effect in Si/SiO2 devices.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of oxide defects in semiconductor devices: A systematic approach linking DFT to rate equations and experimental evidence

Goes

Wimmer

El-Sayed

et al. 2018

Microelectronics Reliability

121

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“…We present analysis for several of these nonstationary RTN in this section. We highlight that although such nonstationary RTN have been reported earlier in high-κ based NVM devices, it is the first time, to our knowledge, that a systematic analysis of all such nonstationary and complex RTN patterns as detected on a single material stack is reported.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 53%

“…Dynamic electrostatic rearrangements in the local atomic environment near the RTN defect appear as temporal perturbation of the RTN signal. , Often such perturbations are subtle and masked in the overall signal. For example, a noticeable change in the RTN pattern measured at 3.70 V in Figure S3 can be observed between 35–40 s. We find that FHMM can serve as a useful tool to analyze such changes.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatially Controlled Generation and Probing of Random Telegraph Noise in Metal Nanocrystal Embedded HfO₂ Using Defect Nanospectroscopy

Ranjan

Puglisi

Molina

et al. 2022

ACS Appl. Electron. Mater.

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Random telegraph noise (RTN) is often considered a nuisance or, more critically, a key reliability challenge for miniaturized semiconductor devices. However, this picture is gradually changing as recent works have shown emerging applications based on the inherent randomness of the RTN signals in state-of-the-art technologies, including true random number generator and IoT hardware security. Suitable material platforms and device architectures are now actively explored to bring these technologies from an embryonic stage to practical application. A key challenge is to devise material systems, which can be reliably used for the deterministic creation of localized defects to be used for RTN generation. Toward this goal, we have investigated RTN in Au nanocrystal (Au-NC) embedded HfO 2 stacks at the nanoscale by combining conduction atomic force microscopy defect spectroscopy and a statistical factorial hidden Markov model analysis. With a voltage applied across the stack, there is an enhanced asymmetric electric field surrounding the Au-NC. This in turn leads to the preferential generation of atomic defects in the HfO 2 near the Au-NC when voltage is applied to the stack to induce dielectric breakdown. Since RTN arises from various electrostatic interactions between closely spaced atomic defects, the Au-NC HfO 2 material system exhibits an intrinsic ability to generate RTN signals. Our results also highlight that the spatial confinement of multiple defects and the resulting electrostatic interactions between the defects provides a dynamic environment leading to many complex RTN patterns in addition to the presence of the standard two-level RTN signals. The insights obtained at the nanoscale are useful to optimize metal nanocrystal embedded high-κ stacks and circuits for on-demand generation of RTN for emerging random number applications.

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“…More distinct current levels are obtained rather than a generally superposition of two-level fluctuations. On the other hand, A-RTN with dynamic time constant result from 2 stables state and 2 metastable states was found by Guo et al [50]. Anomalous current fluctuations are believed to result from multiple traps [49]- [51].…”

Section: Reset Speed Variation In Bcrram Arraymentioning

confidence: 95%

Reset Variability in Backfilled Resistive Random Access Memory and Its Correlation to Low Frequency Noise in Read

Kao

Lin

King

2020

IEEE J. Electron Devices Soc.

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Fast and stable switching between states is one of the key factors for the success resistive random access memory (RRAM) development. In an array, wide reset efficiency variation in RRAM cells is found to link to the characteristics of its low frequency noise (LFN) in bit-cell current. Through Monte Carlo simulation on randomly placing conductive filaments (CF), LFN characteristics correspond to the densities of the CF in the RRAM film. Further correlations between LFN features and the reset efficiency are found. In addition, CF topography are found to change after long term cycling tests. A trimming process is proposed to minimize the impacts of stochastic CF generation, leading to increase reset speed.INDEX TERMS Variability, resistive random access memory, low frequency noise, Monte Carlo simulation, conductive filament.

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Anomalous random telegraph noise in nanoscale transistors as direct evidence of two metastable states of oxide traps

Cited by 20 publications

References 21 publications

Identification of oxide defects in semiconductor devices: A systematic approach linking DFT to rate equations and experimental evidence

Identification of oxide defects in semiconductor devices: A systematic approach linking DFT to rate equations and experimental evidence

Spatially Controlled Generation and Probing of Random Telegraph Noise in Metal Nanocrystal Embedded HfO₂ Using Defect Nanospectroscopy

Reset Variability in Backfilled Resistive Random Access Memory and Its Correlation to Low Frequency Noise in Read

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Anomalous random telegraph noise in nanoscale transistors as direct evidence of two metastable states of oxide traps

Cited by 20 publications

References 21 publications

Identification of oxide defects in semiconductor devices: A systematic approach linking DFT to rate equations and experimental evidence

Identification of oxide defects in semiconductor devices: A systematic approach linking DFT to rate equations and experimental evidence

Spatially Controlled Generation and Probing of Random Telegraph Noise in Metal Nanocrystal Embedded HfO2 Using Defect Nanospectroscopy

Reset Variability in Backfilled Resistive Random Access Memory and Its Correlation to Low Frequency Noise in Read

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Spatially Controlled Generation and Probing of Random Telegraph Noise in Metal Nanocrystal Embedded HfO₂ Using Defect Nanospectroscopy