Si1-xGex Positive Feedback Field-effect Transistor with Steep Subthreshold Swing for Low-voltage Operation

• Published in: Journal of semiconductor technology and science Vol. 17; no. 2; pp. 216 - 222
• Main Authors: Sungmin Hwang, Hyungjin Kim, Dae Woong Kwon, Jong-Ho Lee, Byung-Gook Park
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 대한전자공학회 01.04.2017
• Subjects: 전기공학; positive feedback; Low power devices; field-effect transistor; steep subthreshold slope
• ISSN: 1598-1657; 2233-4866
• DOI: 10.5573/JSTS.2017.17.2.216

The most prominent challenge for MOSFET scaling is to reduce power consumption; however, the supply voltage (VDD) cannot be scaled down because of the carrier injection mechanism. To overcome this limit, a new type of field-effect transistor using positive feedback as a carrier injection mechanism (FBFET) has been proposed. In this study we have investigated the electrical characteristics of a Si1-xGex FBFET with one gate and one-sided Si3N4 spacer using TCAD simulations. To reduce the drain bias dependency, Si1-xGex was introduced as a low-bandgap material, and the minimum subthreshold swing was obtained as 2.87 mV/dec. This result suggests that a Si1-xGe¬x FBFET is a promising candidate for future low-power devices. KCI Citation Count: 14