Direct observation of hot-electron energy distribution in silicon metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors

We have directly observed the energy distributions of hot electrons in Si metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors. We used a lateral hot-electron transistor employing two potential barriers (an emitter barrier and a collector barrier) that divided the Si surface into three regions (the emitter, base, and collector). For an emitter-base voltage of −1.04 V, hot electrons with an excess energy of 0.7 eV were detected at the collector. The ratio of hot electrons to the injected electrons was 1.3%.