TDDB reliability assessment and burn-in for thin gate oxides

A methodology is developed which combines intrinsic reliability data with hypothetical early failure distributions to determine robust burn-in conditions for thin gate oxides. TDDB data for 50 and 35 Angstrom gate oxides are fitted to a model for intrinsic reliability that includes area, voltage and temperature dependencies. Measurements after simulated burn-in, where transistor arrays with intrinsically good gate oxide were stressed as capacitors, indicate that representative transistor parameters remain within specification.