High-field Fowler - Nordheim stress of n-type silicon carbide metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors

Abstract

Fowler - Nordheim electron injections have been carried out in n-type silicon carbide (SiC) metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors. A systematic variation in the temperature and in the average oxide field applied during the stress allowed us to show both a positive charge and electron trapping. The positive charge build-up is shown to emerge above a critical oxide field close to . It decreases with temperature, and can be dissociated into two different exponential time processes. The overall results agree with mechanisms based on impact ionization in the oxide, leading to pair creation and subsequent hole trapping.