Electrical breakdown of M.O.S. structures and its dependence upon the oxidation process†

The mechanism, by which electrical breakdown of the insulant in M.O.S. structures occurs, is identified ; thermodynamic breakdown, for positive metal voltages ; intrinsic breakdown, for the opposite polarity. Thermodynamic breakdown and the fabrication process are shown to be related to the formation of conducting paths within the oxide. The intrinsic breakdown voltages for devices formed from a particular oxide ore found to be distributed about a mean value ; this value being related to the oxidation temperature and oxide thickness.