(100)Si/SiO2 interface states above midgap induced by Fowler-Nordheim tunneling electron injection

It has been found from ac conductance measurement that two kinds of interface states are generated in the upper half of the gap when (100) n-Si metal/oxide/semiconductor capacitors are subjected to Fowler-Nordheim tunneling electron injection. The generation efficiency of these interface states varies in a quite similar fashion with the oxide voltage, although the magnitude is somewhat different from each other. The electron capture cross section for both interface states shows a curious behavior that its value decreases with increasing interface-state density when exceeding about 1.5x10(11) cm(-2)eV(-1). This behavior is explained in terms of the occurrence of additional tunneling to defect states in the oxide. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.