A multi scale modeling approach to non-radiative multi phonon transitions at oxide defects in MOS structures

We discuss a novel approach to predict nonradiative multi phonon (NMP) transition rates for oxide defects in semiconductor devices in the context of device reliability. In accordance with NMP theory, the influence of the atomic vibration on the electronic transition is assumed to be fully described by the line shape function. This line shape is calculated from density functional theory for a given defect structure and then combined with the carrier spectrum from a non-equilibrium Green’s function model of the semiconductor device. Hole capture rates at different temperatures and bias conditions are computed for two well-studied defect structures, the oxygen vacancy and the hydrogen bridge, at different positions in the oxide of an MOS structure.