Characterization of the switching in tunnel MISS devices

The observed bistable characteristics of metal-insulator-silicon switch (MISS) devices with moderate epi-layer doping levels are proven to be controlled by trap assisted tunneling. The switching current and the switching voltage are shown to depend on the reverse saturation current of the MIS substructure and on fabrication parameters (insulator thickness and epi-layer doping level). A method to obtain the metal-semiconductor barrier height, the injection factor at the interface and the trap density in the insulator is presented. The results have been applied to characterize AlSiO2Si(n)Si(p+) structu in which the switching point and the reverse saturation current have been measured. The observed dispersion in the values of the current can be explained by assuming a unique value of the barrier height and the trap density for all devices, allowing the values of the tunneling damping factors to be different from those obtained in the two-band model, which validity is also discussed. © 1986.