Characteristic length of hot-electron transport in silicon metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors

Characteristic length of hot-electron transport in an inversion layer at a Si surface is estimated by using lateral hot electron transistor, which has an upper gate and two lower gates. The inversion layer formed by biasing the upper-gate voltage is separated into three channel regions (the emitter, collector, and base) by the two lower gates. We find that the characteristic length depends on both the upper-gate voltage and the injection energy and ranges from 19 to 27 nm. These results show that hot electrons are affected by electron–electron scattering or surface–roughness scattering and that hot-electron transport plays a crucial role in Si metal–oxide–semiconductor field effect transistors with gate lengths of 20 nm or less.