Performance limit of monolayer MoSi2N4 transistors

Recently, a novel two-dimensional (2D) MoSi2N4 has been successfully synthesized and features high carrier mobility, moderate bandgap, and outstanding ambient stability (Science 369, 670, 2020). Through ab initio quantum transport simulations, we investigated the performance limits of the monolayer (ML) MoSi2N4 metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). We found that the optimized n- and p-type ML MoSi2N4 transistors can well satisfy the key criteria of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) for high performance (HP) applications at a 3 nm gate length, while the p-type devices can also fulfill the requirement of low power (LP) applications at a 5 nm gate length. By taking advantage of the negative capacitance (NC) effect, both the n- and p-type MOSFETs can achieve the ITRS LP goal when the gate length is decreased to 3 nm. The ML MoSi2N4 MOSFETs generally outperform their MoS2 counterparts. Hence, MoSi2N4 is a potential alternative to MoS2 to expand Moore's law beyond the sub-5 nm scale.

Automated summary

The newly synthesized 2D MoSi2N4 material shows promising performance, potentially serving as an alternative to traditional MoS2 to extend Moore's law beyond the sub-5 nm scale.