Graphene Base Transistors: A Simulation Study of DC and Small-Signal Operation

A simulation study aimed at investigating the main features in dc and small-signal operating conditions of the hot-electron graphene base transistor (GBT) for analog terahertz operation is presented. Intrinsic silicon is used as reference material. The numerical model is based on a self-consistent Schrödinger–Poisson solution, using a 1-D transport approximation and accounting for multiple-valley and nonparabolicity band effects. Some limitations in the extension of the saturation region and in the output conductance related to the finite quantum capacitance of graphene and to space charge effects are discussed. A small-signal model is developed that catches the essential physics behind the voltage gain and the cutoff frequency, which shows that the graphene quantum capacitance severely limits the former but not the latter. According to simulations carried out within the ballistic transport approximation, a 20-nm-long GBT can achieve at the same time a voltage gain larger than 10 and a cutoff frequency largely above 1 THz within a reasonably wide bias range.