Device characteristics of nanoscale metal/insulator tunnel transistors in the ballistic quantum transport regime

Abstract

The device characteristics of the nanoscale metal/insulator tunnel transistor are investigated by solving the ballistic quantum transport equation in the device. The device performance in terms of the transfer characteristics, the drain output, and the threshold voltage change is assessed as the channel length is gradually reduced down to a few nanometer. We have found that the device characteristics remain almost the same if the channel length is reduced to around 10 nanometer, but below it, the device performance becomes drastically degraded. Effects of other device parameters such as the channel depth, tunnel barrier height, and the gate dielectric constant are also discussed.