The non-steady-state statistics are derived for traps at the silicon-oxide interface of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) structures. These results are applied to derive the surface-generation current $I_g$ vs. temperature $T$ characteristic associated with the generation of electron-hole pairs through the interfacial traps. It is shown that for a negligible rate of generation of carriers in the depletion layer of the semiconductor, the surface generation $I_g-T$ characteristic reflects the trap distribution in the lower-half of the band gap. Furthermore, it is shown that the $I-T$ curves associated with the bulk-generation and the surface-generation processes exhibit characteristics which allow the two processes to be distinguished.

• Received 29 October 1973

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.11.775