Design Insights Into Switching Performance of Germanium Source L-Shaped Gate Dopingless TFET Based on Cladding Layer Concept

In this article, a germanium source dopingless tunnel field-effect transistor (TFET) is presented, in which the cladding layer concept is employed to induce a hole layer in the intrinsic germanium source, instead of employing an inductive metal. Utilizing semiconductor-semiconductor junction eliminates the possibility of silicide formation in the source region, and gives us the freedom to modulate the energy bands at the source-channel tunneling junction similar to the conventional dopingless TFETs. The materials and the fabrication steps of our proposed device are CMOS compatible. The DC performance of our proposed device in the presence of quantum confinement effects is completely investigated using a calibrated TCAD simulator. Furthermore, device reliability in the presence of nonidealities such as trap assisted tunneling and ambipolar conduction is evaluated. The considerable achievements such as I-on = 7.57 mu A/mu m, SSavg = 18.65 mV/dec, and I-on/I-AMB = 8.82 x 10(9), which is close to I-on/I-off ratio, show that our device is a notable candidate for digital applications.

Automated summary

This article presents a germanium source dopingless tunnel field-effect transistor (TFET) that utilizes a cladding layer concept to induce a hole layer in the intrinsic germanium source. By using a semiconductor-semiconductor junction, the formation of silicide in the source region is eliminated, allowing for modulation of the energy bands. The proposed device is CMOS compatible and its DC performance, including quantum confinement effects and nonidealities, has been investigated. The achieved results make it a promising candidate for digital applications.