Time-dependent response of interface states determined by using differential isothermal transient spectroscopy

A method based on the differential analysis of the isothermal transients is proposed to study the dynamical properties of the charging and discharging of interface states, and several possibilities of using this method are shown. The results obtained in SiO₂/Si and Si₃N₄/SiO₂/Si samples are in agreement with the existence of a spatial and energy distribution of interface states within the insulator. From the experimental data, the concentration of traps within the insulator at 35 Å is estimated to be 5×10⁹ cm^-2 eV^-1, with a tunneling cross section 10^-19 cm², at E_c-E ≈ 0.2 eV.