High-performance 40nm gate length InSb p-channel compressively strained quantum well field effect transistors for low-power (VCC=0.5V) logic applications

Abstract

This paper describes for the first time, a high-speed and low-power III-V p-channel QWFET using a compressively strained InSb QW structure. The InSb p-channel QW device structure, grown using solid source MBE, demonstrates a high hole mobility of 1,230cm 2 /V-s. The shortest 40nm gate length (L G ) transistors achieve peak transconductance (G m ) of 510μS/μm and cut-off frequency (f T ) of 140GHz at supply voltage of 0.5V. These represent the highest G m and f T ever reported for III-V p-channel FETs. In addition, effective hole velocity of this device has been measured and compared to that of the standard strained Si p-channel MOSFET. IntroductionThe III-V compound semiconductor quantum-well field effect transistor (QWFET) is one of the most promising device candidates for future high-speed, low-power logic applications due to its high electron mobility. Recently, highperformance III-V n-channel QWFETs have been demonstrated [1][2][3][4]. However, for implementation of CMOS logic, there is a significant challenge of identifying high mobility III-V p-channel candidates [5]. In this work, we demonstrate for the first time a high-speed and low-power III-V p-channel QWFET using a compressively strained InSb QW structure, which achieves cut-off frequency (f T ) of 140GHz at transistor gate length (L G ) of 40nm and supply voltage (V CC ) of 0.5V. This represents the highest f T ever reported for III-V p-channel FETs.

III–V compound semiconductor transistors—from planar to nanowire structures

“…13 The injection velocity of InGaAs is more than twice that of Si MOSFETs even at half the operating voltage, see Figure 1c . For p -channel MOSFETs, Ge 14 and III-V materials such as GaSb, 15 InSb, 16 and InGaSb 17 are promising materials to achieve the required performance improvements. Thus, implementing high-mobility channel materials onto silicon will present a second disruptive technology change.…”

Comparative Studies of the Growth and Characterization of Germanium Epitaxial Film on Silicon (001) with 0° and 6° Offcut

“…One such example is the compound III-V materials, which have unique properties for future high-speed and low-power computation applications. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Most of the III-V materials show 209 to 709 higher electron mobility and $209 higher conductivity compared with Si. In addition, the feasibility of bandgap engineering in III-V materials enables fabrication of devices suitable for communications and optoelectronics applications.…”

Modeling and Performance Analysis of III-V Nanowire Field-Effect Transistors

“…However, full band (FB) models are necessary to understand on-off current ratios and radio frequency (RF) power. Although there are series of reports on the experimental realizations of InSb and InAs NWFETs Ashley et al, 1997;Chau et al, 2005;Radosavljevic et al, 2008;Lind et al, 2006;Dayeh, Aplin, Zhou, Yu, Yu &Wang, 2007;Bryllert et al, 2006;Thelander et al, 2004;Ng et al, 2004), we find very few attempts to theoretically model them.…”

“…Contacts often define performance at the nanoscale. Reports by Intel and Qinetiq on fabricated both n-and p-type InSb quantum well FETs show that InSb-based quantum well FETs can achieve equivalent high performance with lower dynamic power dissipation Ashley et al, 1997;Chau et al, 2005;Radosavljevic et al, 2008). Recent discovery of the observation of Quantum Spin Hall effect in III-V (Liu et al, 2008) and II-VI (König et al, 2007) materials have also motivated the field of spintronics largly due to the fact that there is the possibility of low power logic devices design using the spin degree of freedom of the electron (Wolf et al, 2001;Murakami et al, 2003).…”