Subthreshold Kink Effect Revisited and Optimized for Si Nanowire MOSFETs

A device design technique for boosting nanowire MOSFET performance beyond a 10-nm technology node is proposed using physical modeling and 3-D numerical simulation. The revisited subthreshold kink effect improves the transistor ON-OFF current ratio and is achievable with supply bias lower than 1 V. The proposed technique overcomes the fundamental and thermal voltage-limited subthreshold swing (SS). An optimized device design methodology to exploit the lowered SS is provided as well.