Hetero-Gate-Dielectric Tunneling Field-Effect Transistors

A tunneling field-effect transistor (TFET) is considered one of the most promising alternatives to a metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor due to its immunity to short-channel effects. However, TFETs have suffered from low
on
-current, severe ambipolar behavior, and gradual transition between
on
- and
off
-states. To address those issues, the authors have proposed hetero-gate-dielectric TFETs. The proposed device enhances
on
-current, suppresses ambipolar behavior, and makes abrupt
on
–
off
transition by replacing the source-side gate insulator with a high-
$k$
material, which induces a local minimum of the conduction band edge at the tunneling junction.