Anomalous leakage current in LPCVD PolySilicon MOSFET's

TLDR: The anomalous leakage current I L in LPCVD polysilicon MOSFETs is attributed to field emission via grain-boundary traps in the (front) surface depletion region at the drain, and an analytic model that describes the strong dependences of I L on the gate and drain voltages is developed.

Abstract: The anomalous leakage current I L in LPCVD polysilicon MOSFET's is attributed to field emission via grain-boundary traps in the (front) surface depletion region at the drain, and an analytic model that describes the strong dependences of I L on the gate and drain voltages is developed. The model predictions are consistent with measured current-voltage characteristics. Physical insight afforded by the model implies device design modifications to control and reduce I L , and indicates when the back-surface leakage component is significant.