Analysis of gate tunneling current in ultra-thin oxide MOSFET´s

As MOSFETs are scaled, the gate oxide thickness is becoming smaller and smaller. Gate tunneling current increases exponentially with decreasing oxide thickness. The sub-0.1 /spl mu/m transistors will require oxides thinner than 30 /spl Aring/. For such thin oxides, the tunneling current becomes significant. This current is expected to be important for the standby power and operation of circuits. Therefore, a simple analytical model for study of the effect of tunneling current would be very useful. This paper describes such a model and its applications.