ELECTRICAL DEFECTS AT THE SiO_2/Si INTERFACE STUDIED BY EPR

摘要

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) is one of the most powerful techniques for studying defects in electronic materials. It has been applied to the Si/SiO_2 system with considerable success over the past few decades. This paper will review recent work using this technique in conjunction with electrical characterization methods to study the physics and chemistry of electrically active defects in metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs). This work has revealed the crucial role played by atomic hydrogen (H~0) in the chemistry of defects in SiO_2. Experiments in which Si/SiO_2 structures are exposed to H~0 help to explain various phenomena resulting from electrical stress or radiation exposure in MOS structures. However, this work has also opened new questions about the nature of the dominant electrically active defects at or near the Si/SiO_2 interface.