High-performance carbon nanotube field effect transistors with a thin gate dielectric based on a self-assembled monolayer

Individual single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) field effect transistors (FETs) with a 2 nm thick silane-based organic self-assembled monolayer (SAM) gate dielectric have been manufactured. The FETs exhibit a unique combination of excellent device performance parameters. In particular, they operate with a gate-source voltage of only -1 V and exhibit good saturation, large transconductance, and small hysteresis (<= 100 mV), as well as a very low subthreshold swing (60 mV/dec) under ambient conditions. The SAM-based gate dielectric opens the possibility of fabricating transistors operating at low voltages and constitutes a major step toward nanotube-based flexible electronics.