Quantum mechanical tunneling phenomena in metal–semiconductor junctions

The impact of the quantum mechanical tunneling effect on the operation of MESFET device structure has been investigated. Due to the presence of a Schottky barrier in a highly doped semiconductor, the depletion region is so narrow that electrons can tunnel through the barrier and contribute to the gate leakage current. This, in turn, facilitates current gain of the Schottky junction transistor (SJT) in the subthreshold region. In a simulation of a SJT we have used 2D Monte Carlo particle-based simulations. Quantum mechanical tunneling effects have been accounted for by using the Airy function transfer matrix approach, valid for piecewise linear potential barriers.