Temperature dependence of electron trapping in metal-oxide-semiconductor devices as a function of the injection mode

Temperature dependence of electron trapping in metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices is controlled by the injection mode. In particular, for avalanche, photoinjection, or hot-carrier injection the electron trapping and device degradation are accelerated at 77 K. However, for the tunneling injection the electron trapping decreases as the temperature is reduced. In this injection mode the temperature dependence of the electron trapping is similar to that of the SiO2 breakdown, which indicates that the two phenomena may be related. The temperature dependence of MOS breakdown is investigated experimentally in the 77–400-K temperature range. It is shown that the corresponding activation energy changes drastically between 200 and 300 K.