Evidence for an atomistic-doping induced variability of the band-to-band leakage current of nanoscale device junctions

We show here for the first time that the band-to-band (B2B) leakage current of nanoscale p-n junctions has a significant statistical dispersion caused by the atomistic nature of both the n-type and the p-type doping. As a result, the B2B current displays a log-normal distribution, with a spread increasing with the scaling of the junction width. This spread may largely increase the average device leakage and, in turn, increase power dissipation in future technologies.