<p>A tunnel transistor includes source diffusion (4) of opposite conductivity type to a drain diffusion (6) so that a depletion layer is formed between source and drain diffusions in a lower doped region (8). An insulated gate (16) controls the position and thickness of the depletion layer. The device includes a quantum well formed in accumulation layer (20) which is made of a different material to the lower layer (2) and cap layer (22).</p>