InGaAs/InP Tunnel FETs With a Subthreshold Swing of 93 mV/dec and ION/IOFF Ratio Near 10⁶

Vertical n-channel tunnel field-effect transistors (TFETs) with tunneling normal to the gate based on an n+ In∞=0.53->;1GaAs/p+InP heterojunction have been demonstrated to exhibit simultaneously a high ION/IOFFratio of 6 × 105, a minimum subthreshold swing (SS) of 93 mV/dec, and an on-current of 20 μA/μm at VDS= 0.5 V and a gate swing of 1.75 V at 300 K, a record TFET performance. The significant improvement in device performance is ascribed to the adoption of a thin equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) of ~1.3 nm for improved electrostatics and the use of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition SiN∞mesa passivation to preserve the integrity of the thin exposed semiconductor layers.