Understanding nMOSFET characteristics after soft breakdown and their dependence on the breakdown location

摘要

Identical breakdown-position dependence of normalized currents in nFETs with 2.4 nm gate oxide is observed after soft and hard breakdowns. This suggests that electron energy is conserved in the soft breakdown path. It is concluded that the observed soft breakdown is best modeled by a lowered oxide barrier in the breakdown conduction path. The static behavior of an nFET immediately after SBD is discussed and tested using the MEDICI device simulator.