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The positive bias temperature instability (PBTI) characteristics of the n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field emission transistors which had different kinds of high-k dielectric gate oxides were studied with the different stress-relaxation times. The degradation in the threshold voltage followed a power-law on the stress times. In particular, we found that their PBTI behaviors were closely related to the structural phase of the high-k dielectric gate oxide. In an amorphous gate oxide, the negative charges were trapped into the stress-induced defects of which energy level was so deep that the trapped charges were de-trapped slowly. Meanwhile, in a crystalline gate oxide, the negative charges were trapped mostly in the pre-existing defects in the crystallized films during early stage of the stress time and de-trapped quickly due to the shallow energy level of the defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]