Impact of the channel thickness on the performance of Schottky barrier metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors

We present quantum simulations of single-gated Schottky barrier metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors on ultrathin silicon on insulator. The electrostatics of such devices is investigated and the influence of the silicon thickness on the Schottky barriers at the source and drain and, thus, the influence on the current–voltage characteristics are elaborated. We show that decreasing the channel layer thickness leads to a strong reduction of the Schottky barrier thickness and thus to an increased gate control of the drain current. The use of ultrathin channel layers improves the off- as well as the on state of such transistors and results in electrical characteristics comparable with conventional metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors.