Conduction mechanisms for off-state leakage current of Schottky barrier thin-film transistors

Conduction mechanisms for the off-state leakage in Schottky barrier thin-fi lm transistor were explored. It was found that the field-emission process d ominates the leakage conduction of the device with the conventional structu re as the field strength in the drain junction becomes high, and results in the strong gate-induced drain leakage (GIDL) like phenomenon. In contrast, for the device with a field-induced-drain structure, the high-field region is pulled away from the silicided drain. As a result, the field-emission c onduction is eliminated, so the GIDL-like leakage current is effectively su ppressed. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.