The avalanche process in the edge region of the metal gate in a metal-oxide-semiconductor structure

Kinetics of forming the edge region of a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) structure is considered in the mode of the avalanche electron injection into the dielectric. The forming process is investigated by studying the kinetics of a photoresponse to trapezoidal voltage pulses (TVPs) exciting an MOS structure. The photoresponse exponentially varies with time, and relaxation time constant T is characterized by a complex dependence on the amplitude of the forming pulse. First, τ increases with the voltage pulse and reaches its maximum. Then, it abruptly decreases and remains virtually constant at a fixed level.