Polymer based dielectric materials have potential applications in micro-electronics, power electronics, photovoltaics, flexible electronics, MEMS and sensing industries. The possibility of premature electrical breakdown due to high electric fields, especially at high frequencies and in high ambient temperature and humidity conditions, has restricted its widespread adoption. In this simulation, we establish dielectric heating as the primary AC degradation mechanism in polymers, and develop an analytical dielectric breakdown model that satisfactorily explains measured trends in constant and ramp stress tests under both AC and DC electric fields. Our study provides a fundamental physical understanding of the frequency,and thickness dependences of lifetime and breakdown strength for polymer dielectrics. The proposed breakdown model suggests far more optimistic prospects when accelerated test results are scaled to normal operating conditions.

This TDDB nanohub tool can simulate the following four structures:

• Thick Dielectric
• Single Thin Capacitor
• Series Thin Capacitors
• Ferroelectric BD

Palit, Sambit, and Muhammad Ashraful Alam. “Electrical breakdown in polymers for BEOL applications: Dielectric heating and humidity effects.” Reliability Physics Symposium, 2014 IEEE International. IEEE, 2014.

Muhammad Alam (2013), "ECE 695A Lecture 21: Introduction to Dielectric Breakdown," https://nanohub.org/resources/17027.

Muhammad Alam (2013), "ECE 695A Lecture 22: Voltage Dependence of Thin Dielectric Breakdown," https://nanohub.org/resources/17028.

Muhammad Alam (2013), "ECE 695A Lecture 23: Characterization of Defects Responsible for TDDB," https://nanohub.org/resources/17291.

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Xin Jin, Muhammad Ashraful Alam, Muhammad Masuduzzaman, Sang Hoon Shin, Sambit Palit (2015), "Time-dependent gate oxide breakdown Lab," https://nanohub.org/resources/tddb. (DOI: 10.4231/D3JD4PQ3W).

  BibTex | EndNote

1. nanoelectronics
2. Reliability physics
3. TDDB