High-field tunneling calculations in metal-oxide-silicon capacitors incorporating the perimeter effect

Abstract

The potential distribution is calculated for a generalized metal-oxide-silicon capacitor using the Schwartz–Christoffel transformation. The results are used to calculate the high-field tunneling current in such a device, with particular attention to the field enhancement effect of the edge of the gate electrode. It is found that the total current through even a large-scale device can be dominated by the perimeter component. The dependence of the field enhancement on several device parameters is examined theoretically. In particular, thick oxides and thin, steep gate electrodes augment the field enhancement.