Polarization-Engineered III-Nitride Heterojunction Tunnel Field-Effect Transistors

• Main Authors: Wenjun Li, Saima Sharmin, Hesameddin Ilatikhameneh, Rajib Rahman, Yeqing Lu, Jingshan Wang, Xiaodong Yan, Alan Seabaugh, Gerhard Klimeck, Debdeep Jena, Patrick Fay
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 2015-01-01
• Series: IEEE Journal on Exploratory Solid-State Computational Devices and Circuits
• Subjects: III-nitride heterojunction; InN; polarization engineering; tunnel field-effect transistors (TFETs)
• Online Access: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7094229/
• ISSN: 2329-9231

The concept and simulated device characteristics of tunneling field-effect transistors (TFETs) based on III-nitride heterojunctions are presented for the first time. Through polarization engineering, interband tunneling can become significant in III-nitride heterojunctions, leading to the potential for a viable TFET technology. Two prototype device designs, inline and sidewall-gated TFETs, are discussed. Polarization-assisted p-type doping is used in the source region to mitigate the effect of the deep Mg acceptor level in p-type GaN. Simulations indicate that TFETs based on III-nitride heterojunctions can be expected to achieve ON/OFF ratios of 106 or more, with switching slopes well below 60 mV/decade, ON-current densities approaching 100 μA/μm, and energy delay products as low as 67 aJ-ps/μm.