Significant Enhancement of HCD and TDDB in CMOS FETs by Mechanical Stress

• Published in: 2022 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium (IRPS) pp. 10A.3-1 - 10A.3-6
• Main Authors: Lee, Kookjin, Kaczer, Ben, Kruv, Anastasiia, Gonzalez, Mario, Eneman, Geert, Okudur, Oguzhan Orkut, Grill, Alexander, Franco, Jacopo, Vici, Andrea, Degraeve, Robin, De Wolf, Ingrid
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01-03-2022
• Subjects: CMOS; Degradation; Dielectric breakdown; Enhanced Impact Ionization (EII); Finite element analysis; Hot carrier effects; Hot-carrier Degradation (HCD); Impact ionization; Mechanical Stress; Photonic band gap; Reliability
• ISSN: 1938-1891
• DOI: 10.1109/IRPS48227.2022.9764540

Significant enhancement of hot-carrier degradation and time-dependent dielectric breakdown by mechanical stress was observed in CMOS FETs. Mechanical stress was induced locally in the channels of p- and n-type FETs by applying a vertical load with a diamond tip of a nanoindenter. The induced GPa level stress was calculated with finite element modeling. Mechanical stress induces a piezoresistance effect in both p- and n- channels, leading to an increase in source/drain leakage and drive currents and drastic enhancement of impact ionization. This in turn results in strongly enhanced hot-carrier degradation and hot-electron-induced punch-through effects in pFETs and enhanced hot-carrier degradation and time-dependent dielectric breakdown in nFETs.