Double-Gate TFET With Vertical Channel Sandwiched by Lightly Doped Si

This paper examines a tunnel field-effect transistor (TFET) as a promising device for achieving steeper switching and better electrical performances in low-power operation. It features a double-gate TFET with vertical channel sandwiched by lightly doped Si (VS-TFET). The vertical tunnel junction is employed on the source side for the steeper subthreshold swing (SS) and for the higher ON-current (I
_ON
) by restricting tunnel barrier width. The VS-TFET shows 17-mV/dec minimum SS and 10
⁴
ON/OFF current ratio (I
_ON
/I
_OFF
) for sub-0.7-V gate overdrive. In addition, the VS-TFET shows sub-60-mV/dec SS in a wide range of I
_D
regardless of sweep directions. In conclusion, the work presented here demonstrates that the VS-TFET will be one of the most promising candidates for a next-generation low-power device.