A detailed 3D-NEGF simulation study of tunnelling in n-Si nanowire MOSFETs

Nanowire field-effect transistors (NWT) attract significant interest as strong contenders for future CMOS applications. Their superior electrostatic integrity offers ultimate-scaling solutions.The source-drain tunnelling increases leakage current but also enhances significantly the on-current, due to the narrowing of the source drain potential barrier at high drain voltage.Therefore the optimal design of nanowire MOSFETs in the near-ballistic regime of operation requires a careful trade off between the detrimental tunnelling-related increase of the leakage current in the sub-threshold regime and the enhancement of the on-current at large drain bias conditions.