Field-enhanced Si–Si bond-breakage mechanism for time-dependent dielectric breakdown in thin-film SiO2 dielectrics

A field-enhanced Si–Si bond-breakage mechanism is presented which accurately describes the time-dependent dielectric breakdown behavior recently reported for thin-film ${\mathrm{SiO}}_{\mathrm{2}}$ dielectrics over a wide range of fields and temperatures. The breakdown kinetics (both the field and temperature dependence) are shown to be consistent with a field-dependent dipolar energy term associated with an oxygen vacancy which serves to reduce the activation energy required for Si–Si bond breakage.