Random telegraph signal noise in tunneling field-effect transistors with S below 60 mV/decade

Single gate oxide defects in strongly scaled Tunneling Field-Effect Transistors with an inverse subthreshold slope well below 60 mV/decade are investigated by Random Telegraph Signal (RTS) noise measurements. The cause for RTS noise are electrons being captured in and released from individual defects in the gate oxide. Under the assumption that elastic tunneling is the underlying capture and emission mechanism, the measured RTS time constants vary with the relative position of the channel Fermi level and the defect energy level while the amplitudes - independent of the capture and release mechanism - follow the inverse of the inverse subthreshold slope.