Patent attributes
A semiconductor device includes: a semiconductor body; an electrical device formed in an active region of the semiconductor body, the active region including an interface between the semiconductor body and an insulating material; and a sensor having a bandwidth tuned to at least part of an energy spectrum of light emitted by carrier recombination at the interface when the electrical device is driven between accumulation and inversion, wherein an intensity of the emitted light is proportional to a density of charge trapping states at the interface, wherein the sensor is configured to output a signal that is proportional to the intensity of the sensed light. Corresponding methods of monitoring and characterizing the semiconductor device and a test apparatus are also described.
