Electric-field and temperature dependence of the activation energy associated with gate induced drain leakage

Abstract

We examined the effect of temperature and electric field on the activation energy (Ea) of gate-induced drain leakage (GIDL) of a MOSFET. The measured GIDL current shows a temperature dependence consistent with a non-tunneling mechanism. In the low-electric-field regime and for temperatures above 55 °C, Ea is about 0.4 eV and drops from 0.4 eV to 0.1 eV as the applied gate voltage goes below VFB in the accumulation direction (decreased for the n-channel MOSFET). This suggests that electron-hole-pair generation at Si/SiO2 interface traps (D it), enhanced by the electric field (the Poole-Frenkel effect), dominates GIDL in that regime. For temperatures below 55 °C, Ea is less than 0.15 eV for both weak and strong electric fields and displays minimal temperature dependence, indicating inelastic trap-assisted tunneling or phonon-assisted tunneling from a trap. In the very strong-electric-field regime (>1 MV/cm), band-to-band tunneling is the dominant mechanism. © 2013 American Institute of Physics.