Issues in high-k reliability

Based on the knowledge gathered on SiO₂ layers, degradation and breakdown mechanisms in high-k layers are explained. The polarity dependence of degradation is treated and lifetime extrapolations are discussed. Threshold voltage shifts caused by charge trapping are identified as an additional reliability hazard. A defect band model is presented to explain the charging effects.

Robin Degraeve

Robin Degraeve received the M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Gent, Belgium, in 1992, and the Ph.D. degree from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, in 1998. He joined the Interuniversity Microelectronics Center (IMEC), Leuven, in the Technology Reliability and Yield group, where he is currently working as a Researcher. His current interests and activities include hot-carrier reliability issues in MOSFETs, the study of the physics of degradation and breakdown phenomena in oxides, the reliability of ultrathin oxide layers for VLSI technologies, and high-k materials as MOSFET gate insulators for future CMOS generations.