On the Temperature and Field Dependence of Trap-Assisted Tunneling Current in Ge p+n Junctions

The temperature dependence of the trap-assisted tunneling (TAT) current component in Ge p(+)n junctions has been studied between 25 degrees C and 140 degrees C. It is shown that the impact of TAT reduces significantly due to the combination of the negative thermal activation of the TAT-enhancement factor and the exponential increase of the diffusion current with temperature. It is shown that the experimental data can be well described in the frame of the Hurkx analytical model, which allows a fairly easy assessment of the TAT current contribution to the junction leakage current at realistic operation temperatures of Ge CMOS circuits.