Leakage current limit of time domain reflectometry in ultrathin dielectric characterization

Abstract

The accurate characterization of highly leaky dielectrics has been a serious challenge in MOSFET and capacitor studies. We have shown that time domain reflectometry (TDR) can be used to measure the capacitance of ultrathin SiO2 MOS capacitors even at a leakage current density as high as similar to 3000 A/cm(2), which is approximately 10(3) times higher than the limit of a conventional impedance analyzer. The extremely short interaction time of the TDR C-V method makes the TDR capacitance measurement more immune to the leakage current. Since the TDR C-V method does not require special high-frequency test structures other than a ground-signal pad pattern, the TDR C-V method is a promising capacitance measurement method for leaky dielectrics.