Does source-to-drain tunneling limit the ultimate scaling of MOSFETs?

By using the non-equilibrium Green's function approach, we report a comprehensive and rigorous study of source-to-drain tunneling in MOSFETs at the scaling limit. The dependence of source-to-drain tunneling on channel length, electrostatics, ambient temperature and scattering is examined, and the effects of source-to-drain tunneling on device characteristics and design issues are explored as well. The results show that source-to-drain tunneling does set an ultimate scaling limit but that this limit is well below 10 nm.