An Analytical Model of the First Eigen Energy Level for MOSFETs Having Ultrathin Gate Oxides

In this paper, we present an analytical model for the first eigen energy level ($E_0$) of the carriers in the inversion layer in present generation MOSFETs, having ultrathin gate oxides and high substrate doping concentrations. Commonly used approaches to evaluate $E_0$ make either or both of the following two assumptions: one is that the barrier height at the oxide-semiconductor interface is infinite (with the consequence that the wave function at this interface is forced to zero), while the other is the triangular potential well approximation within the semiconductor (resulting in a constant electric field throughout the semiconductor, equal to the surface electric field). Obviously, both these assumptions are wrong, however, in order to correctly account for these two effects, one needs to solve Schrodinger and Poisson equations simultaneously, with the approach turning numerical and computationally intensive. In this work, we have derived a closed-form analytical expression for $E_0$, with due considerations for both the assumptions mentioned above. In order to account for the finite barrier height at the oxide-semiconductor interface, we have used the asymptotic approximations of the Airy function integrals to find the wave functions at the oxide and the semiconductor. Then, by applying the boundary condition at the oxide-semiconductor interface, we developed the model for $E_0$. With regard to the second assumption, we proposed the inclusion of a fitting parameter in the wellknown effective electric field model. The results matched very well with those obtained from Li's model. Another unique contribution of this work is to explicitly account for the finite oxide-semiconductor barrier height, which none of the reported works considered.