On the mechanism of interface trap generation under nonuniform channel-hot-electron stress and uniform carrier-injection stress in metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors

The interpretation of the small hydrogen/deuterium isotope effect widely observed under uniform stress has been based on an implicit assumption that interface traps in the entire channel are passivated by deuterium after the deuterium annealing process. Through a stress/anneal process, we show that this assumption is incorrect. Instead, our results clearly suggest that interface trap generation under both nonuniform channel hot-carrier stress and uniform stress, such as Fowler-Nordheim tunneling and substrate electron injection, essentially follows the same mechanism, which is the breaking of Si-H(D) bonds and the release of hydrogen/deuterium at the oxide/silicon interface.