Investigations on MGy ionizing dose effects in thin oxides of micro-electronic devices
- CEA, DAM, DIF, F-91297 Arpajon (France)
- ISAE, Universite de Toulouse, 10 avenue Edouard Belin, BP 54032, 31055 Toulouse Cedex 4 (France)
- Universite de Saint-Etienne, Laboratoire H. Curien, UMR-5516, 42000, Saint-Etienne (France)
Total ionizing dose (TID) effects have been studied for a long time in micro-electronic components designed to operate in natural and artificial environments. In most cases, TID induces both charge trapping in the bulk of irradiated oxides and the buildup of interface traps located at semiconductor/dielectric interfaces. Such effects result from basic mechanisms driven by both the shape of the electric field which stands into the oxide and by fabrication process parameters inducing pre-existing traps in the oxide's bulk. From the pioneering studies based on 'thick' oxide technologies to the most recent ones dedicated to innovative technologies, most studies concluded that the impact of total ionizing dose effects reduces with the oxide thinning. This is specifically the case for the gate-oxide of Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOSFET) for which it is generally considered that TID is not a major issue anymore at kGy dose ranges. TID effects are now mainly due to charge trapping in the field oxides such as Shallow Trench Isolation. This creates either parasitic conduction paths or Radiation-Induced Narrow Channel Effects (RINCE). Static current-voltage (I-V) electrical characteristics are then modified through a significant increase of the off-current of NMOS transistors or by shifting the whole I-V curves (of both NMOS and PMOS transistors). Based on these assumptions, no significant shift of I-V curves should be observed in modern bulk CMOS technologies. However, such phenomenon may not be directly extrapolated to higher TID ranges, typically of several MGy for which only few data are available in the literature. This paper presents evidences of large threshold voltage shifts measured at MGy dose levels despite the fact that transistors are designed in a submicron bulk technology which features a 7-nm thin gate-oxide on GO2 transistors dedicated to mixed analog/digital integrated circuits. Such electrical shifts are encountered on PMOS transistors of different widths, W{sub NARROW} = 0.24 μm and W{sub WIDE} = 10 μm. The devices are irradiated using 10 keV X-rays at several total dose steps up to 3 MGy. On the one hand, negative threshold voltage shifts of more than 3.3 V are extracted after 3 MGy on narrow transistors. Even very high, this voltage shift is consistent with RINCE in narrow open layout transistors. On the other hand, voltage shifts greater than 2.5 V are extracted on wide transistors. Obviously, this result should not be associated neither to positive charge trapping in the thin gate oxide nor to any RINCE in this very wide transistor geometry. NMOS and PMOS transistors exhibit a clear asymmetrical behaviour. But contrary to what is commonly observed at 'low' TID range, the PMOS transistor is here more impacted than the NMOS one. The final paper will thus provide an extensive study of these phenomena using other device designs and geometries tested with dedicated TID experiments to discuss whether or not this effect revealed at very high TID, i.e. several MGy, may be attributed to an enhanced high-TID induced charge trapping mechanism in thin gate oxides. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers - IEEE, 3 Park Avenue, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10016-5997 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 22531390
- Report Number(s):
- ANIMMA-2015-IO-343; TRN: US16V0455102331
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: ANIMMA 2015: 4. International Conference on Advancements in Nuclear Instrumentation Measurement Methods and their Applications, Lisboa (Portugal), 20-24 Apr 2015; Other Information: Country of input: France
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Total dose induced latch in short channel NMOS/SOI transistors
Total dose hardness of three commercial CMOS microelectronics foundries
Related Subjects
DIAGRAMS
DIELECTRIC MATERIALS
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
INTERFACES
IRRADIATION
KEV RANGE
MOSFET
PHYSICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS
TRAPPING
TRAPS
X RADIATION