Hot carrier analysis in low-temperature poly-Si thin-film transistors using pico-second time-resolved emission microscope

We have analyzed degradation of N-channel thin-film-transistor (TFT) under dynamic stress using a pico-second time-resolved emission microscope. We have successfully detected emission at pulse fall edge for the first time. Emission intensity increased with the decrease of pulse fall time. As the degradation depended on the pulse fall time, this dependence clearly illustrates that hot electrons are the dominant cause of the degradation under dynamic stress. Based on these dependences, we proposed a model considering electron traps in the poly-Si.     

Evaluation technique of gate oxide damage

Gate oxide damage by plasma processing was evaluated using structures with various antenna lengths. The gate oxide damage by plasma processing was found to be monitored quantitatively by measuring the charge to breakdown, Q_BD. From the Q_BD measurements, we have confirmed that the degradation occurs during overetching, not in main etching. Plasma current was calculated from the decrease of Q_BD during the etching. The breakdown spot in the gate oxide was detected by photon emission and TEM. The LOCOS structure plays an important role for the degradation by plasma damage. In this paper, it is demonstrated that the Q_BD method is effective for realizing a highly reliable process against plasma damage     

Failure analysis of ULSI circuits using photon emission

A real-time failure analysis technique for ULSI circuits using photon emission is proposed. This technique utilizes a photon detection system combined with a circuit tester. Improved failure detection is achieved because the tester can bias arbitrary blocks in the ULSI chip. Detecting and correct process defects and design errors improves the reliability of the ULSI chip     

Capacitance-voltage and leakage-current characteristics of sol-gel-derived crystalline and amorphous SrTa2O6 thin films

SrTa₂O₆ (STA) is a promising high-dielectric-constant (ε) material. In this study, STA thin films were fabricated using the sol-gel method. The capacitance-voltage and leakage-current characteristics of crystalline and amorphous STA thin-film capacitors were investigated. STA thin films crystallized at an annealing temperature of 800 °C. Crystalline STA thin films exhibited a high ε of about 110, whereas amorphous STA thin films showed a much lower ε of about 26-41. However, amorphous STA thin films had a much more constant capacitance as a function of voltage. Of the amorphous thin films, the one annealed at 700 °C had the highest ε of about 41, the lowest leakage current of 10^− 8 A/cm², and a very constant capacitance as a function of voltage with a quadratic voltage-capacitance coefficient (α) of 27 ppm/V². The crystalline STA thin film had a negative α that was independent of frequency, which suggests that dipolar relaxation occurs and is responsible for the large change in the capacitance. The amorphous thin films had a positive α that decreased with increasing frequency, which implies that electrode polarization occurs.     

Thermal Degradation Under Pulse Operation in Low-Temperature p-Channel Poly-Si Thin-Film Transistors

We analyzed the heat generation of a low-temperature polycrystalline thin-film transistor in pulse operation and proposed a technique for accurately measuring its thermal temperature in high-frequency operation. From this measurement, we were able to calculate the time constants for heating and radiation for the first time. At a low frequency, the temperature difference between when the pulse was on and off was remarkable. As the frequency was increased, the maximum and minimum temperatures approached each other and became equal at a frequency of approximately 1 kHz. We also measured the degradation in pulse operation and discussed the relationship between the thermal temperature and the degradation in the pulse operation     

Evaluation technology of VLSI reliability using hot carrierluminescence

An evaluation technology for VLSI reliability using hot carrier luminescence has been developed. Problems with conventional electrical methods have been solved by the analysis of weak luminescence emitted from operating devices. Two applications are described. First, for the gate oxide evaluation, it is found that the best stress condition is determined by monitoring uniform photon count distribution emitted from the gate capacitors. Second, a method is proposed to find the weakest transistor in an LSI circuit against hot-carrier-induced degradation by counting photon emissions. This method is applied to the analysis of SRAMs (static RAMs) when the transistors to be improved have been detected     

Evaluation of temperature characteristics of high-efficiency InGaP/InGaAs/Ge triple-junction solar cells under concentration

Temperature characteristics of the open-circuit voltage (V_oc) were investigated in the temperature range from 30°C to 240°C for the InGaP/InGaAs/Ge triple-junction cells. Also, single-junction cells that had the similar structure to the subcells in the triple-junction cells were studied. In the high-temperature range (from 170°C to 240°C), the temperature coefficients of V_oc of the InGaP/InGaAs/Ge triple-junction solar cell (dV_oc/dT) were different from those in the low-temperature range (from 30°C to 100°C). This is because photo-voltage from the Ge subcell becomes almost 0 V in the high-temperature range. It was found that the open-circuit voltage of a Ge single-junction cell reduced to almost 0 V temperatures over 120°C under 1 sun condition.     

New method for lifetime evaluation of gate oxide damaged by plasmaprocessing

A quantitative model is proposed, clarifying the relationship between the charge-to-breakdown with constant current injection (Q_bd) and the time-to-breakdown with constant-voltage stress (t_bd) for gate oxides damaged by plasma processing. By including the dependence of Q_bd on the stress current density, one can predict the t_bd by means of counting the fraction of the lifetime expenditure; JΔt/Q_bd(J), where J is the current density at each period (Δt) under constant-voltage stressing, until the sum of the ratio is unity. The results show good agreement for the oxides of MOS capacitors with different gate areas. This method is useful for projection of the oxide lifetime