Simulation of the Gate Current Sensitivity of a 1.5 nm Gate Oxide nMOST

Scaled MOS devices with gate oxides as thin as 1.5 nm are affected by direct-tunneling gate leakage. We demonstrate the sensitivity of the direct-tunneling gate current to variationsof both process parameters and parameters in the model of direct tunneling [3].The zero of the gate current is a probe for the form of the oxide near the drain-side corner of the poly gate. We argue that it can also be used as a monitor of the wear-out process caused by trapping of positive charge in this region.