Time stability of Stress Induced Leakage Current in thin gate oxides

We have investigated the time stability of low-field Stress Induced Leakage Current (SILC) in thin oxides. By injecting a low gate current, SILC can be strongly reduced at room temperature. This behaviour may be attributed to electron trapping in those weak spots generated by the electrical stress. In absence of charge injection, SILC is not healed during room temperature storage periods. The optimal conditions for SILC abatement have been experimentally investigated. No saturation value of SILC decay has been found, challenging the significance of the SILC DC steady state value.