Which outcome occurs due to quantum mechanical tunneling through a MOSFET gate oxide?

💡 Explanation

When the gate oxide thickness is sufficiently small, quantum tunneling allows electrons to pass through the potential barrier because the electron's wave function has a non-zero probability amplitude across classically forbidden regions. Therefore, a significant gate leakage current results, rather than increased mobility, higher breakdown voltage, or improved switching speed depending on different physical device properties.

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• Which outcome occurs when electrons tunnel through a thin insulating layer in a MOSFET transistor gate?