Comparative study of the breakdown transients of thin Al2O3 and HfO2 films in MIM structures and their connection with the thermal properties of materials

Pazos, Sebastián; Aguirre, Fernando; Miranda, E.; Lombardo, S.; Palumbo, F.

doi:10.1063/1.4977851

Cited by 15 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Such energy and momentum release from the carriers to the atoms in the BD spot region is the cause of the BD spot growth through electromigration. The other major ingredient of the proposed model is the role of the thermal conductivity of the dielectric . A dielectric with low thermal conductivity confines the dissipated energy, and it produces a larger temperature increase of the BD spot and faster PBD kinetics compared to a dielectric with high conductivity (see Figure a,b).…”

Section: Breakdown Of Gate Insulators For Cmos: Silicon Oxynitrides Amentioning

confidence: 75%

A Review on Dielectric Breakdown in Thin Dielectrics: Silicon Dioxide, High‐k, and Layered Dielectrics

Palumbo

Wen

Lombardo

et al. 2019

Adv Funct Materials

175

104

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Thin dielectric films are essential components of most micro-and nanoelectronic devices, and they have played a key role in the huge development that the semiconductor industry has experienced during the last 50 years. Guaranteeing the reliability of thin dielectric films has become more challenging, in light of strong demand from the market for improved performance in electronic devices. The degradation and breakdown of thin dielectrics under normal device operation has an enormous technological importance and thus it is widely investigated in traditional dielectrics (e.g., SiO 2 , HfO 2 , and Al 2 O 3 ), and it should be further investigated in novel dielectric materials that might be used in future devices (e.g., layered dielectrics). Understanding not only the physical phenomena behind dielectric breakdown but also its statistics is crucial to ensure the reliability of modern and future electronic devices, and it can also be cleverly used for other applications, such as the fabrication of new-concept resistive switching devices (e.g., nonvolatile memories and electronic synapses). Here, the fundamentals of the dielectric breakdown phenomenon in traditional and future thin dielectrics are revised. The physical phenomena that trigger the onset, structural damage, breakdown statistics, device reliability, technological implications, and perspectives are described.

show abstract

Section: Breakdown Of Gate Insulators For Cmos: Silicon Oxynitrides Amentioning

confidence: 75%

A Review on Dielectric Breakdown in Thin Dielectrics: Silicon Dioxide, High‐k, and Layered Dielectrics

Palumbo

Wen

Lombardo

et al. 2019

Adv Funct Materials

175

104

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although the exact location of the traps into the oxide cannot be accurately determined, defects with high activation energies for capture and relaxation may not contribute to dispersion but can be involved in C-V hysteresis when the stress time or bias is increased. 36 This trapping behavior has also been largely observed in CVS current versus time (I-t) characteristics of high-k dielectrics in both metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) 49 and also in metal-insulator-metal (MIM) 50 structures. The observed effect is a progressive current reduction that is usually modeled through Curie-von Schweidler law 51 and ascribed to electron trapping.…”

Section: C-v Hysteresis As a DC Time Dependent Indicator Of Chargmentioning

confidence: 79%

Lack of correlation between C-V hysteresis and capacitance frequency dispersion in accumulation of metal gate/high-k/n-InGaAs metal-oxide-semiconductor stacks

Pazos

Aguirre

Tang

et al. 2018

Journal of Applied Physics

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The correlation between capacitance-voltage hysteresis and accumulation capacitance frequency dispersion of metal gate/high-k/n-InGaAs metal-oxide-semiconductor stacks is experimentally assessed. Samples fabricated employing forming gas annealing (FGA) or substrate air exposure to obtain different densities of defects were thoroughly characterized and the results were compared with previous literature on the topic. Results indicate a lack of correlation between capacitancevoltage hysteresis and accumulation capacitance dispersion with frequency, suggesting that defects with remarkably different kinetics are involved in each phenomenon. This is assessed through the dependence of the capacitance-voltage hysteresis with DC bias and stress time, observing that permanent interface defect depassivation under bias has no effect on the hysteresis width after stress. Overall, capacitance-voltage hysteresis probes slow trapping mechanisms throughout the oxide and the bandgap, which are consistent with the negative charge trapping characteristic of the currenttime curves for FGA samples at constant voltage stress. Instead, accumulation capacitance frequency dispersion probes defects with short trapping/detrapping characteristic times that can be linked to the stress induced leakage current of air exposed samples under constant DC stress. Experimental results indicate that each effect must be assessed separately due to the large difference in the kinetics of the probed defects.

show abstract

“…The time evolution of the HRS to LRS transition is quantified by the slope dI T r /dt, as defined in Ref. [13], [26], [27]. Such metric will be subsequently referred to as Transition Rate (TR) [A/s].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study on the Connection Between the Set Transient in RRAMs and the Progressive Breakdown of Thin Oxides

Aguirre

Rodríguez-Fernández

Pazos

et al. 2019

IEEE Trans. Electron Devices

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this paper, the transition rate (TR) from the high to the low resistance state of a HfO 2 -based Resistive Random Access Memory (RRAM) is investigated. TR is statistically characterized by applying constant voltage stresses in the range from 0.45V to 0.65V. It is found that TR follows a voltage dependence that closely resembles that exhibited by MIS/MIM structures when subjected to constant electrical stress but with remarkably different fitting parameters. This result suggests a common underlying mechanism in both evolutionary behaviors. Furthermore, the investigation provides additional evidence supporting the micro-structural changes in the oxide after the forming step as well as the role played by the atomic species during the SET event.

show abstract

Comparative study of the breakdown transients of thin Al2O3 and HfO2 films in MIM structures and their connection with the thermal properties of materials

Cited by 15 publications

References 32 publications

A Review on Dielectric Breakdown in Thin Dielectrics: Silicon Dioxide, High‐k, and Layered Dielectrics

A Review on Dielectric Breakdown in Thin Dielectrics: Silicon Dioxide, High‐k, and Layered Dielectrics

Lack of correlation between C-V hysteresis and capacitance frequency dispersion in accumulation of metal gate/high-k/n-InGaAs metal-oxide-semiconductor stacks

Study on the Connection Between the Set Transient in RRAMs and the Progressive Breakdown of Thin Oxides

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About