Degradation properties in metal‐nitride‐oxide‐semiconductor structures

摘要

Degradation properties in metal‐nitride‐oxide‐semiconductor (MNOS) structures are investigated using mainlyp‐channel MNOS transistors. A model is proposed on the basis of various experimental results, attributing the degradation to the passage of hole current through the SiO2layer, followed by creation of hole traps in the SiO2layer, and creation of interface states at the Si‐SiO2interface. A theoretical treatment of the enhancement of hole conduction in the degraded SiO2layer of thep‐channel thick‐oxide MNOS transistor is performed, and the hole traps created in the SiO2layer appear to beE′ centers when the experimental results are fitted to the theoretical calculations. The nature of the interface states created by write‐erase (W/E) cycling is also discussed, comparing the experimental results using ap‐ and ann‐channel MNOS transistor.