Accumulation-mode MOSFET and driving method thereof

• US 9,299,844 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2015
• Issued: 03/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tohoku University National Universities Corporation
• Original Assignee: Tohoku University National Universities Corporation
• Inventors: Teramoto, Akinobu
• Primary Examiner(s): COX, CASSANDRA F
• Application Number:
  US14/636,817
• Publication Number:
  US 20150179788A1
• Time in Patent Office: 392 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2029/7857 of the accumulation type
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/0895 Tunnel injectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7606 Transistor-like structures, e.g. hot electron transistor [HET]; metal base transistor [MBT]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/785 having a channel with a horizontal current flow in a vertical sidewall of a semiconductor body, e.g. FinFET, MuGFET
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/687 the devices being field-effect transistors

Abstract

There is provided an accumulation-mode MOSFET. The accumulation-mode MOSFET has a tunnel electron emission portion and a thermionic emission portion which are provided in a source region portion.

Claims

1. An accumulation-mode MOSFET comprising:

a semiconductor region where a channel region is formed;

a gate electrode and a gate insulating film for forming the channel region;

a source region portion for injecting carriers; and

a drain region for ejecting carriers, wherein

a tunnel electron emission portion which emits an electronic tunnel current flowing the channel region through tunneling and a thermionic emission portion which emits an accumulation region current flowing the channel region through thermionic emission are provided in the source region portion.

2. The accumulation-mode MOSFET according to claim 1, wherein said tunnel electron emission portion and said thermionic emission portion form a two-layered structure.

3. A method of driving an accumulation-mode MOSFET comprising

a semiconductor region where a channel region is formed;

a gate electrode and a gate insulating film for forming the channel region;

a source region portion for injecting carriers; and

a drain region portion for ejecting carriers, the method comprising;

driving the accumulation-mode MOSFET by an electronic tunnel current emitted by a tunnel electron emission portion when transiting from an OFF state to an ON state until a gate voltage applied to the gate electrode reaches a power supply voltage, and driving the accumulation-mode MOSFET by an accumulation region current emitted by a thermionic emission portion in the ON state where the gate voltage applied to the gate electrode is the power supply voltage, wherein

the tunnel electron emission portion which emits the electronic tunnel current flowing the channel region through tunneling and the thermionic emission portion which emits the accumulation region current flowing the channel region through thermionic emission are provided in the source region portion of the accumulation-mode MOSFET.

4. The method of driving the accumulation-mode MOSFET according to claim 3, wherein there exists a region where a gate voltage necessary for increasing a drain current by an order of magnitude when transiting from the OFF state to the ON state is smaller than 60 mV at least at room temperature.