Analytical Tools for Device Reliability and Characterization: Electrically Detected Magnetic Resonance and Near-Zero-Field Magnetoresistance

There is a significant, though often incomplete empirical understanding of many semiconductor device reliability problems. Some examples in MOS technology are the many sophisticated and insightful studies on time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB), the negative bias temperature instability, hot carrier instabilities, and radiation damage. Various approaches have been developed to deal with these reliability problems, and, of course, these approaches have been widely and successfully utilized. However, the experimental aspects of most investigations of these reliability issues involve only purely electrical measurements, from which a fundamental physical and chemical understanding of the underlying physical phenomena may only be inferred with great difficulty. A fundamental physical and chemical understanding of many of these issues can be developed through several electron spin-based techniques. This report provides a brief introduction to the theoretical background and experimental techniques specifically useful for the applications of these techniques in device reliability studies, as well as several examples of their application to important reliability issues.