Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Amplification and Switching Action in the MISIM Tunnel Transistor

Current-voltage characteristics of the metal-insulator-semiconductor-insulatormental (MISIM) tunnel transistor in the common base and common emitter configurations are studied experimentally and theoretically. The MISIM tunnel transistor which is based in operation on tunneling through the ultrathin oxide and the tunnel current multiplication mechanism, operates at very low currents and can exhibit large current gain in the common base configuration and switching in the common emitter configuration. A computer model of the MISIM tunnel transistor which takes into account tunneling between the semiconductor bands, interface traps and the metal electrode, as well as recombination-generation mechanisms at the interface and in the semiconductor substrate and diffusion of minority carriers interior the substrate has been developed and applied for theoretical study of physical mechanisms affecting current amplification and switching.