Correlation of dielectric breakdown with hole transport for ultrathin thermal oxides and N2O oxynitrides

In this letter, the dielectric breakdown characteristics of thermal oxides and N2O-based oxynitrides have been studied. A direct correlation was found between dielectric breakdown and the hole current generated within the gate dielectrics. The dependence of dielectric breakdown on oxide thickness was also studied. It was found that both charge-to-breakdown and hole-fluence-to-breakdown for the N2O oxynitrides were higher than those for the thermal oxides throughout the thickness range studied (33–87 Å). The results suggest that N2O oxynitrides can sustain more damage before breakdown and thus have superior dielectric integrity compared to the thermal oxides.