VMR: VLSI-compatible metallic carbon nanotube removal for imperfection-immune cascaded multi-stage digital logic circuits using Carbon Nanotube FETs

Metallic carbon nanotubes (CNTs) create source-drain shorts in Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistors (CNFETs) resulting in excessive leakage (I
on
/I
off
≪ 5) and highly degraded noise margins. A new technique, VLSI-compatible Metallic-CNT Removal (VMR), overcomes metallic CNT challenges by combining layout design with CNFET processing. VMR produces CNFET circuits with I
on
/I
off
in the range of 10
³
-10
⁵
, and overcomes the limitations of existing metallic-CNT removal techniques. VMR enables first experimental demonstration of complex cascaded CNFET logic circuits. Such logic circuits are immune to both mis-positioned and metallic CNTs.