Cathodoluminescence evaluation of electrical stress condition of Si-SiO/sub 2/ structures

In this paper, we describe the observation of a new phenomenon which may be extended to provide a non electrical and physical evaluation of the electrical stress degradation of Si-SiO/sub 2/ structures. Two novel observations, the hot-electron-injection-induced 2.7 eV luminescence centers and the interfacial stress dependence of the 2.7 eV CL peak build-up, are described.