Design Guideline of Si-Based L-Shaped Tunneling Field-Effect Transistors

Abstract

In this work, novel L-shaped tunneling field-effect transistors (TFETs) have been proposed. The proposed L-shaped TFETs feature higher on-current ( I on ) and lower subthreshold swing ( SS ) than conventional TFETs. It is because L-shaped TFETs have large cross-sectional area of band-to-band tunneling junction which is perpendicular to the channel direction and their tunneling barrier width ( W t ) is defined by the length of an intrinsic silicon region. As the devices are based on the Si without any other material, it can be fabricated with well-established Si process technology. In addition, it can moderate some issues come from scaling down and enlarging tunneling area due to its mesa structure. Simulation results have confirmed the superiority of L-shaped TFETs over conventional TFETs. Additionally, the effect of some device parameters on device performance has been investigated for the clear verification of its operation mechanism and the optimization.