High drain field impact ionization transistors as ideal switches.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 39426951.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-53337-8 and PMC identifier 11490558.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Impact ionization effect has been demonstrated in transistors to enable sub-60 mV dec<sup>-1</sup> subthreshold swing. However, traditionally, impact ionization in silicon devices requires a high operation voltage due to limited electrical field near the device drain, contradicting the low energy operation purpose. Here, we report a vertical subthreshold swing device composed of a graphene/silicon heterojunction drain and a silicon channel. This structure creates a low voltage avalanche impact ionization phenomenon and leads to steep switching of the silicon-based device. Experimental measurements reveal a small average subthreshold swing of 16 µV dec<sup>-1</sup> over 6 decades of drain current and nearly hysteresis-free, and the operating voltage at which a vertical subthreshold swing occurs can be as low as 0.4 V at room temperature. Furthermore, a complementary silicon-based logic inverter is experimentally demonstrated to reach a voltage gain of 311 at a supply voltage of 2 V.