Defect generation in 3.5 nm silicon dioxide films

The generation of defects in thin 3.5 nm SiO2 films has been measured as a function of the average electron energy and total injected fluence. It is found that the generation of defects during electron injection for both positive and negative bias manifests itself as positive charge as measured from the increase in the current for a given bias. Positive charge generation is seen for electrons injected into the silicon dioxide conduction band, with the generation rate increasing with increasing electron energy. Electrons that traverse the oxide film via direct quantum‐mechanical tunneling do not generate measurable defects. These results are consistent with previously published results on thicker films where the defects were attributed to positive charge found near the anode.