Change in the Charge State of MOS Structures with a Radiation-Induced Charge under High-Field Injection of Electrons

Abstract

The influence of high-field electron injection modes on the charge state and defectiveness of metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) structures after irradiation is studied. It is shown that to erase the radiation-induced positive charge accumulated in the SiO2 film of MOS structures, it is necessary to apply high-field Fowler–Nordheim tunnel injection of electrons in electric field that do not cause the hole generation. It has been established that erasure of the radiation-induced positive charge in the SiO2 film of MOS structure and the generation of new interface traps are mainly determined by the magnitude of the charge injected into the dielectric. It has been found that, upon annihilation of the holes trapped in SiO2 as a result of the interaction with the injected electrons, a significant increase in the number of the interface traps is observed, which significantly exceeds the number of interface traps arising upon annealing of a radiation-induced positive charge at room temperature. A model is proposed that describes the annihilation of a radiation-induced positive charge upon interaction with injected electrons.