OPERATION OF A BIPOLAR-TRANSISTOR WITH A TUNNEL MOS EMITTER AND AN INDUCED BASE FROM 4.2 TO 300 K

We demonstrate for the first time the capability of tunnel MOS emitter transistors to operate in the temperature range from 300 K down to 4. 2 K without reduction of current gain. This device suffers much less f rom carrier freeze out than conventional bipolar transistors with p-n junction based emitters. This is because the gain of the tunnel MOS em itter transistor relies on the asymmetry of electron/hole quantum mech anical tunneling which is almost temperature independent. The results illustrating the effect of magnetic fields of up to 9 T an the perform ance of this transistor are also presented. Due to its satisfactory lo w-temperature operation and other interesting properties, the tunnel M OS emitter transistor is a promising bipolar component for cryoelectro nics. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.