Gate-oxide thickness effects on hot-carrier-induced degradation in n-MOSFETs

The gate-oxide thickness effects on hot-carrier-induced degradation have been investigated for submicron MOSFETs. A thinner gate oxide gives a higher substrate current, but reduced hot-electron effects. This is because the thin-gateoxide device has smaller mobility and threshold voltage degradation due to a shift of damaged interface region towards the drain contact. The analytical substrate and drain current model has been derived. The model predictions are in good agreement with the experimental data for submicron MOSFETs with different oxide thicknesses.