We report the results of experiments performed to study plasma-induced damage in ultrathin gate oxide of metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). The transistors used were 0.35 mu m n-channel MOSFETs with less than or equal to 65-Angstrom-thick gate oxides fabricated on 200 mm p/p(+) boron-doped silicon substrates using a full complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor flow up to and including metal 2 processes. Our results show that threshold voltage, maximum transconductance, and subthreshold swing as well as charge pumping current became ineffective in discerning charging damage in these thin oxide MOSFETs. In contrast, gate leakage current I-g, measured at a gate-to-substrate voltage of 2 V, is shown to emerge as the more sensitive damage indicator in this case. The sensitivity of I-g is attributed to trap-assisted direct tunneling which is enhanced by decreasing oxide thickness. The sensitivity of I-g in probing charging damage is demonstrated using special MOSFET structures that utilize charge antennas at the polycrystalline silicon gate definition etch, contact etch, and metal etch steps.