The RFET—a reconfigurable nanowire transistor and its application to novel electronic circuits and systems

With CMOS scaling reaching the limits in the next decade, new approaches are required to enhance the functionality of electronic systems. Reconfigurability on the device level promises to realize more complex systems with a lower device count. In the last 5 years a number of interesting concepts have been proposed to realize such a device level reconfiguration. Among these the reconfigurable field effect transistor (RFET), a device that can be configured between an n-channel and p-channel behavior by applying an electrical signal, can be considered as an end of roadmap extension of current technology with only small modifications to the process flow [1]. This paper gives a review on the RFET basics and current status. In the first sections the state of the art of reconfigurable devices will be summarized [2] and the RFET will be introduced together with related devices based on silicon nanowire technology [3]. The device optimization with respect to device symmetry and performance will be discussed next [4,5]. The potential of the RFET device technology will then be shown by discussiing circuit implementations making use of the unique advantages of this device concept [6,7,8]. The basic device concept was also extended towards applications in flexible devices and sensors [9,10] extending the capabilities also towards so called More than Moore applications were new functionalities are implemented in CMOS base processes. Finally the prospects of the RFET device technology will be discussed.