Relation between hole traps and hydrogenous species in silicon dioxides

There are at least two ways for creating positive charges in silicon oxides: hole trapping and the formation of positive hydrogenous species. This paper investigates the relation between them. The issues addressed include if hole traps assist in the generation of hydrogenous positive charges and how the formation of hydrogenous charges affects the hole trapping. Both reactive and non-reactive hydrogenous species are investigated and their different effects on hole traps are pointed out. It is found that there are two types of hole traps, having different relations with hydrogen. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.