On the temperature and voltage dependence of short-term negative bias temperature stress

Initial NBTI degradation is often explained by elastic hole trapping which also considerably distorts long-term measurements. In order to clarify this issue, short-term NBT stress measurements are performed using different temperatures, stress voltages, and oxide thicknesses. The data shows a clear temperature activation and a super-linear voltage dependence, thereby effectively ruling out elastic hole tunneling. Rather, our data supports an explanation based on a thermally activated hole capture mechanism.