Quantum yield of electron impact ionization in silicon

TLDR

Strong scattering in the oxide during Fowler–Nordheim tunneling causes broadening of the incident electron energy distribution. The study uses p‑channel Si‑gate MOS transistors with very thin oxides to investigate the quantum yield of electron‑impact ionization in silicon. Electrons tunnel from the polysilicon gate, producing a δ‑function energy distribution that is preserved through the oxide, and the resulting carrier‑separation allows measurement of electron‑hole pair generation versus incident energy up to 5 eV, matching theoretical predictions. The measured quantum yield agrees closely with theory up to 5 eV, but above this energy the data become ambiguous due to energy broadening, and the average energy of Fowler–Nordheim tunneled electrons depends on oxide field rather than thickness.

Abstract

p-channel Si-gate metal-oxide-semiconductor transistors of very thin oxides are used for the study of quantum yield of electron impact ionization in silicon. Electrons are injected into silicon from the polysilicon gate by tunneling to give an approximate δ-function energy distribution. This energy distribution is preserved when electrons pass through the oxide by direct tunneling. Using the carrier-separation properties of the induced junction, we are able to experimentally measure the number of generated electron-hole pairs as a function of the incident electron energy, up to 5 eV. Our results are found to be in excellent agreement with recent theoretical calculations of quantum yield. Beyond 5 eV, the interpretations on the experimental data are difficult due to the broadening of the incident electron energy distribution. This broadening effect is caused by strong scattering in the oxide when electrons tunnel by the Fowler–Nordheim (F–N) process. It is observed that the average energy of those electrons tunneled by the Fowler–Nordheim process becomes a function of oxide field, relatively independent of the oxide thickness.