High Current Density Esaki Tunnel Diodes Based on GaSb-InAsSb Heterostructure Nanowires

• Published in: Nano letters Vol. 11; no. 10; pp. 4222 - 4226
• Main Authors: Ganjipour, Bahram, Dey, Anil W, Borg, B. Mattias, Ek, Martin, Pistol, Mats-Erik, Dick, Kimberly A, Wernersson, Lars-Erik, Thelander, Claes
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 12.10.2011
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Condensed Matter Physics; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Current density; Den kondenserade materiens fysik; Density; Devices; Diodes; Doping; Electrical properties; Electron states and collective excitations in thin films, multilayers, quantum wells, mesoscopic and nanoscale systems; Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures; Electronics; Engineering and Technology; Exact sciences and technology; Fysik; Materials science; Molecular electronics, nanoelectronics; Nano Technology; Nanocrystalline materials; Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization; Nanostructure; Nanoteknik; Nanowires; Natural Sciences; Naturvetenskap; Physical Sciences; Physics; Quantum wires; Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices; Teknik; Tunnel diodes; Esaki tunnel diode; InAs; broken band; Nanowire; GaSb; tunnel FET; heterostructure; Electronic properties; Gallium antimonides; Electrical properties; High density; Doping; Tunnel diodes; Gallium phosphide; III-V compound; p n junctions; Gallium tellurides; Heterojunctions; Logic gates; Nanowires; Transistors; Current density; Nanostructured materials; Gates; Heterostructures; III-V semiconductors
• ISSN: 1530-6984; 1530-6992; 1530-6992
• DOI: 10.1021/nl202180b

We present electrical characterization of broken gap GaSb-InAsSb nanowire heterojunctions. Esaki diode characteristics with maximum reverse current of 1750 kA/cm2 at 0.50 V, maximum peak current of 67 kA/cm2 at 0.11 V, and peak-to-valley ratio (PVR) of 2.1 are obtained at room temperature. The reverse current density is comparable to that of state-of-the-art tunnel diodes based on heavily doped p-n junctions. However, the GaSb-InAsSb diodes investigated in this work do not rely on heavy doping, which permits studies of transport mechanisms in simple transistor structures processed with high-κ gate dielectrics and top-gates. Such processing results in devices with improved PVR (3.5) and stability of the electrical properties.