Identification of atomic scale defects involved in oxide leakage currents

We present evidence linking specific atomic scale defects to leakage currents in thermally grown silicon dioxide thin films on silicon. The defects identified are oxygen deficient silicon `dangling bond' centers. These centers have been identified through electron spin resonance measurements. We find a strong correspondence between the generation of an oxygen deficient silicon dangling bond defect in the oxide and the appearance of oxide leakage currents. We observe a strong correlation between the disappearance of these centers and the disappearance of leakage currents in relatively low temperature anneals (200 °C) in air.