Change of acceleration behavior of time-dependent dielectric breakdown by the BEOL process: indications for hydrogen induced transition in dominant degradation mechanism

One single modification in the back end of line (BEOL) process can change the acceleration behavior of time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB). It is demonstrated that two competing degradation mechanisms exist in parallel, which follow time dependences according to the E-model and the 1/E-model. Negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) tests correlate well with TDDB results. A continuous hydrogen reaction model is introduced, which can explain the experimental results.