Charge trapping and detrapping characteristics in hafnium silicate gate dielectric using an inversion pulse measurement technique

Threshold voltage (VTH) instability in metal oxide semiconductor field transistors (MOSFETs) with high dielectric constant (k) gate dielectrics has been investigated with an inversion pulse measurement technique, which can detect fast dielectric charging/discharging within microseconds (μs). The results indicate that VTH instability can be significantly underestimated by conventional VTH measurement techniques. Based on temperature-dependent stress data, it is suggested that charging and discharging are determined by direct tunneling and thermally assisted processes, respectively.