TY - JOUR
T1 - A Review on Dielectric Breakdown in Thin Dielectrics: Silicon Dioxide, High-k, and Layered Dielectrics
AU - Palumbo, Felix
AU - Wen, Chao
AU - Lombardo, Salvatore
AU - Pazos, Sebastian
AU - Aguirre, Fernando
AU - Eizenberg, Moshe
AU - Hui, Fei
AU - Lanza, Mario
N1 - Generated from Scopus record by KAUST IRTS on 2021-03-16
PY - 2020/5/1
Y1 - 2020/5/1
N2 - Thin dielectric films are essential components of most micro- and nanoelectronic devices, and they have played a key role in the huge development that the semiconductor industry has experienced during the last 50 years. Guaranteeing the reliability of thin dielectric films has become more challenging, in light of strong demand from the market for improved performance in electronic devices. The degradation and breakdown of thin dielectrics under normal device operation has an enormous technological importance and thus it is widely investigated in traditional dielectrics (e.g., SiO2, HfO2, and Al2O3), and it should be further investigated in novel dielectric materials that might be used in future devices (e.g., layered dielectrics). Understanding not only the physical phenomena behind dielectric breakdown but also its statistics is crucial to ensure the reliability of modern and future electronic devices, and it can also be cleverly used for other applications, such as the fabrication of new-concept resistive switching devices (e.g., nonvolatile memories and electronic synapses). Here, the fundamentals of the dielectric breakdown phenomenon in traditional and future thin dielectrics are revised. The physical phenomena that trigger the onset, structural damage, breakdown statistics, device reliability, technological implications, and perspectives are described.
AB - Thin dielectric films are essential components of most micro- and nanoelectronic devices, and they have played a key role in the huge development that the semiconductor industry has experienced during the last 50 years. Guaranteeing the reliability of thin dielectric films has become more challenging, in light of strong demand from the market for improved performance in electronic devices. The degradation and breakdown of thin dielectrics under normal device operation has an enormous technological importance and thus it is widely investigated in traditional dielectrics (e.g., SiO2, HfO2, and Al2O3), and it should be further investigated in novel dielectric materials that might be used in future devices (e.g., layered dielectrics). Understanding not only the physical phenomena behind dielectric breakdown but also its statistics is crucial to ensure the reliability of modern and future electronic devices, and it can also be cleverly used for other applications, such as the fabrication of new-concept resistive switching devices (e.g., nonvolatile memories and electronic synapses). Here, the fundamentals of the dielectric breakdown phenomenon in traditional and future thin dielectrics are revised. The physical phenomena that trigger the onset, structural damage, breakdown statistics, device reliability, technological implications, and perspectives are described.
UR - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/adfm.201900657
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85065070353&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/adfm.201900657
DO - 10.1002/adfm.201900657
M3 - Article
SN - 1616-3028
VL - 30
JO - Advanced Functional Materials
JF - Advanced Functional Materials
IS - 18
ER -