Defect generation at the Si-Si O₂ interface following corona charging

A combination of capacitance-voltage and lifetime decay measurements is used to show that corona biasing of silicon oxidized samples results in the generation of additional interface defects and an increase in surface recombination. The onset of interface degradation occurs at relatively low electric fields, estimated to be less than ∼+-1.2 MVcm. The majority of the defects generated by corona biasing can be removed by a short annealing at 400 °C. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that atomic hydrogen is chiefly responsible for the observed degradation. Corona biasing, even at low electric fields, cannot be relied on as a noninvasive characterization tool.