Multiple breakdown statistics and post-breakdown reliability methodology

The application of the successive breakdown statistics to post-breakdown reliability methodology is critically examined and compared to other possible approaches. Recent results lead to the proposal of a new global methodology to analyse post-breakdown reliability data, which combines progressive breakdown, hard breakdown and multiple breakdown failures using a worst-case criterion.

Jordi Suñé graduated in Physics in 1986 and PhD. in Electronics in 1989 both at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. He was research fellow at IMEC (1989) and at the University of Bologna (1990,1991). He is now Full Professor of Electronics at the Department of Electronics Engineering UAB. He is senior member of IEEE and has been member of several Technical Committees in relevant conferences related to electron devices and reliability: IEDM CIR Subcommittee (2000, 2001), IRPS Device Dielectrics Subcommittee (2000-2003), IEEE SISC (1999-2001) and INFOS (2001-2003). He has (co)authored more than 150 papers in international journals and relevant conferences, among which 7 IEDM papers, several invited papers and a tutorial on oxide reliability at IRPS 2001. Main fields of interest are gate oxide physics and reliability and modeling and simulation of quantum transport.

Ernest Y. Wu, IBM Microelectronics Division, MS967A, Essex Junction, Vermont, 05452 (eywu@us.ibm.com), Dr. Wu is a senior engineer in Technology Reliability Department at IBM Microelectronics Division. He received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in physics from University of Kansas in 1986 and 1989, respectively. Dr. Wu joined the IBM Storage Product Division in 1989. In 1994, he transferred to the IBM Microelectronics Division in Essex Junction, Vermont. He is responsible for technology qualification of ultra-thin gate oxides. His research interests include reliability of ultra-thin oxides and devices, device physics, carrier transport, and magnetics. Dr. Wu has served on the device dielectric committee as a co-chair for 2000 International Reliability Physics Symposium (IRPS). He is a member of CMOS and Interconnect Reliability committee of International Electron Device Meeting (IEDM) for 1999 and 2000. He has authored and co-authored more than 60 technical and conference papers with several invited papers.