Extraction of Charge Trapping Kinetics of Defects from Single-Defect Measurements

Charge trapping at oxide defects poses a serious reliability concern in MOS transistors. For scaled technology nodes, the impact of charge-trapping events on device behavior becomes even more severe. These events can be seen as discrete steps in device current, allowing for single-defect analysis. In this context, the analysis of random telegraph noise (RTN) and time-dependent defect spectroscopy (TDDS) has become very popular in exploring the physical origin of charge trapping at single defects. To improve the accuracy of single-defect analysis, we conduct a Monte Carlo analysis of trap occupancy, enabling us to extract information about the charge emission time of fixed oxide traps from charge capture time data recorded under stress conditions. The newly gained knowledge is beneficial for accurately calibrating defect models used to explain the charge-trapping dynamics of defects. Furthermore, the additional data support the verification of extrapolation from trapping models and help improve the quality of extracted trap level, trap depth, and energy barriers.