Time Dependent Dielectric Breakdown of Thin Silicon Oxide Using Dense Contact Electrification

Abstract

We achieved time dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) measurement of a thin silicon oxide microscopically using contact electrification. By increasing the external bias voltage, TDDBs of the oxide layer without and with oxide surface roughening were observed sequentially. Charge-to-breakdown in the contact electrification was estimated to be on the order of 10^-5∼10^-6 C/cm². This value is higher than that of electrified charge density in the absence of external bias voltage, but is much smaller than the value of ∼5×10^-1 C/cm² obtained in the conventional TDDB measurement using a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitor. From calculation of the number of injected charges per atom, TDDB measurement using contact electrification is expected to provide a more quantitative evaluation of charge-to-breakdown than that using a MOS capacitor.