Verification of electron distribution in silicon by means of hot-carrier luminescence measurements

This paper investigates the use of hot carries luminescence (HCL) measurements as a mean for the verification of carrier energy distribution functions In submicron silicon devices subject to high electric fields, To this purpose, physically-based two-dimensional (2-D) simulations of the spectral distribution of HCL are compared with extensive experimental data on special purpose n(+)/n/n(+) test structures that demonstrate lateral held profiles similar to real MOSFET's without the obscuring effects of a gate electrode, Good agreement between measured and simulated data is observed over wide channel length, bias, and temperature ranges, thus providing for the first time a direct verification of simulated electron energy distributions in a MOSFET-like environment.