Positive and negative charge creation in the SiO2 film of a MOS transistor by high electric field stress

The aim of this work was to study the charge creation in the SiO₂ layer of a Si MOSFET induced by the electric field stress in the Fowler-Nordheim (FN) tunneling regime. At lower field, typical positive oxide charge generation has been observed. With an increasing stressing field, which is accompanied by an increasing FN electron injection current, negative charge creation has been found. The possible sources of charges and the mechanisms of their generation are presented.