Determination of the switching criterion for metal/tunnel-oxide/N/P+silicon switching devices

An experimental study is presented which determines the switching criterion for metal/tunnel-oxide/n/p⁺devices. The D.C. characteristics obtained from isolated devices fabricated on two batches of substantially different substrates, but having identical tunnel-oxides, suggest that the switching current is almost completely determined by the characteristics of the tunnel-oxide. Physical arguments are presented which adequately explain the experimental results.