TEMPERATURE-DEPENDENCE CONFIRMATION OF TUNNELING THROUGH 2-6 NM SILICON DIOXIDE

The temperature dependence of the current traversing a 2-4 nm thick th ermally grown oxide on silicon is consistent with a direct tunneling m odel for the current in the studied temperature range 100-350 K. The e ffect of temperature on the current stems from changes in the internal bias distribution of the metal-tunnel oxide-silicon (MTOS) structure. This effect is also shown to be the dominant part of the temperature dependence of the Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) tunneling current in a 6 nm ox ide device. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd