The MOSFET gate currents of high k gate dielectrics due to direct tunneling are investigated by using a new direct tunneling current model developed.The model includes both the inversion layer quantization effect with finite barrier height and the polysilicon depletion effect.The impacts of dielectric constant and conduction band offset as well as the band gap on the gate current are discussed.The results indicate that the gate dielectric materials with higher dielectric constant,larger conduction band offset and the larger band gap are necessary to reduce the gate current.The calculated results can be used as a guide to select the appropriate high k gate dielectric materials for MOSFETs.
