Articles techniques et présentations

We have simulated the copper ion concentration and internal electric field profiles in a dielectric material by solving the transient continuity/Poisson equations using COMSOL Multiphysics.

We have shown that failure of dielectrics can be modeled if we assume that failure in Cu/SiO₂/Si devices occurs due to a pile-up of copper ions at the cathode and the subsequent increase in electric field that accompanies the pile up.

A comparison with experimental data shows that polarization of the dielectric due to the high field surrounding the copper ions contributes to acceleration of the breakdown and that breakdown in porous dielectrics is faster than solid dielectrics due to field concentration around the pores of the dielectric.