Effects of stress conditions on the generation of negative bias temperature instability-associated interface traps

The exponent n of the generation of an interface trap (N_it), which contributes to the power-law negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) degradation, and the exponent’s time evolution are investigated by simulations with varying the stress voltage V_g and temperature T. It is found that the exponent n in the diffusion-limited phase of the degradation process is irrelevant to both V_g and T. The time evolution of the exponent n is affected by the stress conditions, which is reflected in the shift of the onset of the diffusion-limited phase. According to the diffusion profiles, the generation of the atomic hydrogen species, which is equal to the buildup of N_it, is strongly correlated with the stress conditions, whereas the diffusion of the hydrogen species shows V_g-unaffected but T-affected relations through the normalized results.