Which mechanism governs current flow through gate oxide layers thinner than 3 nanometers in MOSFET transistors?

💡 Explanation

When the gate oxide layer is extremely thin (~3nm), Fowler-Nordheim tunneling occurs because electrons can pass through the potential barrier even without sufficient energy to overcome it classically, leading to current leakage. Therefore quantum tunneling results in gate current, rather than thermionic emission, drift, or hole injection, which become dominant with thicker oxides and different voltage conditions.

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