Theoretical consideration of a new nanometer transistor using metal/insulator tunnel-junction

A new metal/insulator tunnel transistor (MITT) is proposed as a nanometer switching device. In the transistor, metal/insulator/metal tunnel currents are controlled by a gate electrode placed above the insulator, as in a metal/oxide/semi-conductor field-effect transistor. The characteristics of this MITT are theoretically studied using a computer simulation. It is confirmed that this new device operates in the same way as conventional semiconductor devices. The currents flowing through an insulator between two metals can be controlled in the ranges from 10 -16 A to 10 -5 A at 77 K and from 10 -11 A to 10 -6 A at room temperature, for a variation in gate voltage of 2 V, when the channel length, i.e. the thickness of the sandwiched insulator, is between 15 nm and 20 nm and the relative dielectric constant of the channel is assumed 5. The switching speed is estimated to be of the order of picoseconds (ps) for operation at 77 K and about 100 ps for operation at room temperature.