Abstract
The evolution of the electrical properties of HfO2/SiO 2/Si dielectric stacks under electrical stress has been investigated using atomic force microscope-based techniques. The current through the grain boundaries (GBs), which is found to be higher than thorough the grains, is correlated to a higher density of positively charged defects at the GBs. Electrical stress produces different degradation kinetics in the grains and GBs, with a much shorter time to breakdown in the latter, indicating that GBs facilitate dielectric breakdown in high-k gate stacks. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 103510 |
Journal | Applied physics letters |
Volume | 99 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 5 Sep 2011 |