Copyright © 2013 American Scientific Publishers Journal of

All rights reserved Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Printed in the United States of America Vol. 13, 8133–8136, 2013

Analysis on RF Parameters of Nanoscale

Tunneling Field-Effect Transistor Based on
InAs/InGaAs/InP Heterojunctions
Sung Yun Woo1 ∗ , Young Jun Yoon1 , Seongjae Cho2 ,
Jung-Hee Lee3 , and In Man Kang3 ∗
1
School of Electronics Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 702-701, Korea

RESEARCH ARTICLE
2
Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA
3
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Kyungpook National University,
Deagu 702-701, Korea

Tunneling field-effect transistors (TFETs) based on the quantum mechanical band-to-band tunneling
(BTBT) have advantages such as low off-current and subthreshold swing (S) below 60 mV/dec at
room temperature. For these reasons, TFETs are considered as promising devices for low standby
power (LSTP) applications. On the other hand, silicon (Si)-based TFETs have a drawback in low
on-state current (Ion  drivability. In this work, we suggest a gate-all-around (GAA) TFET based on
compound semiconductors to improve device performances. The proposed device materials consist
of InAs (source), InGaAs (channel), and InP (drain). According to the composition (x of Ga in
In1−x Gax As
Delivered bylayer of the
Ingenta to: channel
Chalmers region, simulated
Tekniska devices
Hogskola have been
(Chalmers investigated
University in terms of
of Technology)
both direct-current (DC) IP: and RF parameters
185.89.101.178 On:including
Sat, 07tunneling
May 2016 rate, transconductance (gm , gate
15:47:52
capacitance (Cg , intrinsic Copyright:
delay time (American
), cut-off frequency T  and maximum oscillation frequency
Scientific(fPublishers
(fmax . In this study, the obtained maximum values of  , fT , and fmax for GAA InAs/In09 Ga01 As/InP
heterojunction TFET were 21.2 fs, 7 THz, and 18 THz, respectively.
Keywords: Tunneling Field-Effect Transistor, InAs/InGaAs/InP Heterojunction, RF Parameters,
Band-to-Band Tunneling.

1. INTRODUCTION insulators, pnpn-multijunction, and novel structuring for

Tunneling field-effect transistors (TFETs) are operated by
the band-to-band tunneling (BTBT) mechanism between
source and channel, while the conventional metal-oxide-
semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) are
operated by thermionic emission and drift-diffusion mecha-
nisms. Due to the tunneling mechanism for current driving,
substhreshold swing (S) below 60 mV/dec, the physical
limit of conventional MOSFETs at room temperature, can
be obtained in TFETs. Consequently, TFETs consume less
power and they are considered as one of the replace-
ments of MOSFETs for low standby-power applications.1–9
However, since the number of carriers injected by BTBT
mechanism from source to channel is small, TFETs have
low on-current (Ion  level compared with conventional
MOSFETs. To overcome this weakness of TFET, vari-
oius solutions have been tried and evaluated by application
of III–V compound semiconductors, hetero-gate-dielectric
∗
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
TFETs.10–17
In this study, we propose a gate-all-around (GAA) TFET
based on InAs/InGaAs/InP heterojunction.18 The perfor-
mances of the proposed TFETs are mainly dependant
on gallium (Ga) composition (x of In1−x Gax As-channel
region since the value of x has influence on tunneling
barrier width of TFETs. Therefore, DC characteristics of
GAA TFETs preferentially are investigated with different
x’s. Moreover, primary radio-frequency (RF) parameters
such as cut-off frequency (fT , maximum oscillation fre-
quency (fmax , gate capacitance (Cg , and intrinsic time
delay () are investigated as a function of Ga fraction.
2. DEVICE STRUCTURE AND DC
CHARACTERISTICS
Figure 1 shows a schematic view of the GAA InAs/
InGaAs/InP heterojunction TFET. The devices were
simulated with the non-local BTBT model showing higher
accuracy compared to other models having fixed constants

J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 2013, Vol. 13, No. 12 1533-4880/2013/13/8133/004 doi:10.1166/jnn.2013.8220 8133

 Analysis on RF Parameters of Nanoscale Tunneling Field-Effect Transistor Based on InAs/InGaAs/InP Heterojunctions
Fig. 1. Schematic view of GAA InAs/InGaAs/InP TFET.
RESEARCH ARTICLE
provided in the device simulation.19 Channel length (Lch 
and radius (Rch  of the simulated TFETs were 30 and
10 nm, respectively. The gate oxide was assumed to be
alumina (Al2 O3  with thickness (Tox  = 2 nm. The dop-
ing concentrations of p+ -source, p− -channel, and n+ -drain
regions were 1020 , 1016 , and 1018 cm−3 , in sequence.
The lattice constant of InAs, In053 Ga047 As, and InP are
6.058 Å, 5.869 Å, and 5.869 Å at room temperature.20
Since the lattice constant of InAs (6.058 Å) is lager than
that of GaAs (5.653 Å), higher Ga fraction of InGaAs
Delivered by Ingenta to: Chalmers Tekniska
Hogskola
gets lower lattice constant. InGaAs in the channel region
IP: 185.89.101.178 On: Sat, 07 May 2016 15:47:52
relaxes the mechanical stress by intermediate lattice
Copyright: con- Scientific
American
stant lying between those of InAs and InP.
Figure 2 plots drain current (ID  versus gate volt-
age (VGS  at a drain voltage (VDS  of 1 V. Subthreshold
swing (S), defined as the reciprocal of maximum slope
on the ID –VGS transfer curve in this work, is smaller
than 60 mV/dec as shown in the figure. It is confirmed
that In09 Ga01 As TFET has the highest on- (Ion  and
off-currents (Ioff  compared devices with different atomic
fractions. Tunneling probability (T E closely related
with the current drivability of a TFET is induced from
Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin (WKB) approximation and
Fig. 2. ID –VGS curves of GAA InAs/InGaAs/InP TFETs according to
different Ga fractions (x in the channel.
8134
Woo et al.
Fig. 3. Properties of heterojunction in view of energy. (a) Energy-band
diagrams along the channel with different Ga fractions at VGS = 0 V and
V DS = 10 V. (b) Source-to-channel effective barrier width at VGS = VDS =
10 V. (Chalmers University of Technology)
shows increases
Publishers inversely proportional to the effective
mass (m∗  and bandgap energy (Eg .21 The m∗ and Eg
of In1−x Gax As decrease with the fall of x.22 23 Therefore,
as x decreases, Ion of TFETs with In1−x Gax As-channel
increases. Figure 3(a) shows energy band diagram of the
InAs/InGaAs/InP heterojunction TFETs with different x’s
at the bias condition of VGS = 0 V and VDS = 10 V
(standby mode). For a larger x, energy band gap (Eg  of
channel region increases as shown in Figure 3(a). Widen-
ing Eg at the standby mode thickens the tunneling barrier
width between channel and drain in consequence. Thus,
the ambipolar behavior of TFETs is dramatically sup-
pressed as presented in Figure 2.24 Figure 3(b) shows
the tunneling barrier width between source and channel
with different x at VGS = 10 V and VDS = 10 V (drive
mode). As x is decreased at the on-state, the effective bar-
rier width beween source and channel is narrowed and
m∗ gets smaller.23 Consequently, the enhanced T E is
expected between source and channel regions as shown
in Figure 4. When a positive bias is applied to the gate
terminal, the energy-band of channel region goes down
by the electrical field. When the valence band maximum
(Ev  of source region is higher than the conduction band
minimum (Ec  of channel region, BTBT occurs between
source and channel and the resulting tunneling rate deter-
mines Ion of TFETs. In addition, channel-to-drain tun-
neling rate of In09 Ga01 As-channel TFET in off-state is
3-order higher than that of In053 Ga047 As-channel TFETs
J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 13, 8133–8136, 2013
Woo et al. Analysis on RF Parameters of Nanoscale Tunneling Field-Effect Transistor Based on InAs/InGaAs/InP Heterojunctions
Fig. 4. Band-to-band tunneling rate with different Ga fractions at on-
state (filled square) and off-state (empty square).
in off-state. Although Ion of In09 Ga01 As-channel TFET
shows the highest value, In053 Ga047 As-channel TFET can
be more suitable to LSTP applications in terms of S, off-
current, and on/off ratio (Ion /Ioff .
Figure 5(a) depicts the transconductance (gm  as a func-
tion of VGS . Since the energy-band of channel region is
lowered by increasing VGS , the number of injected carri-
ers from source to channel region becomes larger. Since
gm is proportional to VGS , increased number of tunneled
electrons improves gm in turn. Moreover, the characteristics
of I–V curve and band diagram are changed as a func-
tion of x as confirmed by Figures 2 and 3. The lower
x is, the smaller
Delivered m∗byand Eg gets.
Ingenta Lattice constant
to: Chalmers
In09 Ga01 As is larger than that of IP:In185.89.101.178
053 Ga047 As. For On:
reason, In09 Ga01 As is less affected by Copyright:
lattice scattering.
Fig. 5. Small-signal parameters as a function of VGS . (a) Transconduc-
tance and (b) gate capacitance with different Ga fractions
J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 13, 8133–8136, 2013
The gm of In09 Ga01 As-channel TFET at VGS = 10 V and
VDS = 10 V (1.74 S) is higher than those of TFETs with
channels of different Ga fractions due to increase number of
injected carriers and effectively reduced lattice scattering.
At the on-state, the electrons are accumulated below
the gate dielectric and form the inversion layer from
drain region toward source side. As Vg increases, the
gate capacitance (Cg ) is gradually increased and saturated
after the inversion layer is completely formed as shown
in Figure 5(b). Under the same doping concentration and
bias condition, Eg of In09 Ga01 As is smaller than that
of In053 Ga047 As, while electron affinity of In09 Ga01 As
is larger than that of In053 Ga047 As. Since energy band
bending of In09 Ga01 As across the inversion layer below
gate oxide is smaller than that of In053 Ga047 As, the num-
ber of accumulated electrons becomes relatively small.
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Therefore, Cg of In09 Ga01 As is smaller than that of
In053 Ga047 As.
3. RF PERFORMANCES AND
INTRINSIC TIME DELAY
The Ga fraction in the In1−x Gax As-channel is one of the
most important factors determining the RF performances
such as cut-off frequency (fT  and maximum oscillation
frequency (fmax  of the TFET device. fT is expressed by
the following relation:25
Tekniskaof Hogskola (Chalmers University of Technology)
gm
this Sat, 07 May 2016 15:47:52 fT = (1)
American Scientific Publishers
2C g
fT of TFETs is obtained from high-frequency current gain
(H21 . As shown in Figure 6(a), fT is in a negative relation
with x: lower x increases gm and decreases Cg . The max-
imum fT (7 THz) of In09 Ga01 As-channel TFET is about
two times higher than that of In053 Ga047 As-channel TFET
(3 THz).
fmax ’s of TFET devices were obtained from unilateral
power gain (U).25 fT and Cg are dependant on x. Since
smaller x would increase fT and decrease the capacitance,
fmax of the proposed GAA TFET is also negatively corre-
lated with x. fmax of In09 Ga01 As-channel TFET (18 THz)
is about two times higher than that of In053 Ga047 As-
channel TFET as shown in Figure 6(b).
Finally, the intrinsic time delays () of GAA TFETs
with different x values are presented in Figure 7.  is
defined by the following equation:26 27
Cg VDD
= (2)
Ion
where VDD is the supply voltage of 1 V and Ion is the
drain current at VGS = VDS = 1 V, respectively. Total gate
capacitance become smaller as x decreases as plotted
in Figure 5(b). On the other hand, Ion of GAA TFETs
increases as x decreases. Consequently, under the same
VDD ,  is shorter as for smaller x from Figure 7 and the
minimum  of In09 Ga01 As-channel region is 21.2 femto-
seconds (fs).
8135
 Analysis on RF Parameters of Nanoscale Tunneling Field-Effect Transistor Based on InAs/InGaAs/InP Heterojunctions
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Fig. 6. RF performances of TFETs. (a) Cut-off frequency (fT  and (b)
maximum oscillation frequency (fmax .
Delivered by Ingenta to: Chalmers Tekniska Hogskola
IP: 185.89.101.178 On: Sat, 07H.
Copyright: American Scientific
Fig. 7. Intrinsic delay time () with different Ga fractions.
4. CONCLUSIONS
GAA InAs/InGaAs/InP heterojunction TFET has been
analyzed by simulation in terms of Ga fraction (x.
Since the values of Ion ’s of the proposed TFETs ranged
3–7 mA/m for different x values, the current drivability
of InAs/InGaAs/InP TFET was much higher than that of
Si-based TFETs. In view of requirements for LSTP appli-
cations, such as S and on/off current ratio, Ga fraction
was optimized at the In053 Ga047 As TFET as demonstrated.
In the aspect of RF performances for high-frequency appli-
cation, lower Ga fraction might be more strategic, which
8136
Woo et al.
was supported by the fact that fT (7 THz) and fmax
(18 THz) of In09 Ga01 As-channel TFET were about two-
fold higher than those of In053 Ga047 As-channel TFET due
to its higher on-current and smaller gate-capacitance.
Acknowledgments: This research was supported by the
National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded
by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology
(MEST) under Grants 2011-0025701 and 2012-0005671.
Dr. S. Cho was supported by the National Research Foun-
dation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government
(NRF-2011-357-D00155).
References and Notes
1. W. Y. Choi, B.-G. Park, J. D. Lee, and T.-J. K. Liu, IEEE Electron
Device Lett. 28, 743 (2007).
2. Q. Zhang, W. Zhao, and A. Seabaugh, IEEE Electron. Device Lett.
27, 297 (2006).
3. J. Appenzeller, Y.-M. Lin, J. Knoch, and P. Avouris, Phys. Rev. Lett.
93, 196805 (2004).
4. K. K. Bhuwalka, M. Born, M. Schindler, M. Schmidt, T. Sulima,
and I. Eisele, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 45, 3106 (2006).
5. T. Krishnamohan, D. Kim, S. Raghunathan, and K. Saraswat, IEDM
Tech. Dig. 947, 1 (2008).
6. K. K. Bhuwalka, M. Born, M. Schindler, M. Schmidt, T. Sulima,
and I. Eisele, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 45, 3106 (2006).
7. E.-H. Toh, G. H. Wang, G. Samudra, and Y.-C. Yeo, Appl. Phys.
Lett. 90, 263507 (2007).
8. M. J. Lee and W. Y. Choi, J. Semicond. Technol. Sci. 11, 287 (2011).
9. M.-C. (Chalmers
Sun, G. Kim, University
S. W. Kim,of H.Technology)
W. Kim, H. Kim, J.-H. Lee,
MayShin,2016 15:47:52
and B.-G. Park, J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 12, 5313 (2012).
Publishers
10. V. Nagavarapu, R. Jhaveri, and J. C. S. Woo, IEEE Trans. Electron.
Device 55, 1013 (2008).
11. S. Cho, M.-C. Sun, G. Kim, T. I. Kamins, B.-G. Park, and J. S.
Harris, J. Semicond. Technol. Sci. 11, 182 (2011).
12. W. Y. Choi, IEEE Trans. Electron. Device 57, 2317 (2010).
13. K. Ganapathi, Y. Yoon, and S. Salahuddin, Appl. Phys. Lett.
97, 033504 (2010).
14. S. Saurabh and M. J. Kumar, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 48, 064503 (2009).
15. S. Cho, I. M. Kang, T. I. Kamins, B.-G. Park, and J. S. Harris, Appl.
Phys. Lett. 99, 243505 (2011).
16. J. S. Lee, W. Y. Choi, and I. M. Kang, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 50, 124301
(2011).
17. H. W. Kim, J. H. Kim, S. W. Kim, M.-C. Sun, G. Kim, E. Park,
H. Kim, K.-W. Kim, and B.-G. Park, J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol.
12, 5592 (2012).
18. Y. S. Yu and H.-K. Park, J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 12, 5925 (2012).
19. SILVACO International, ATLAS User’s Manual.
20. B. Streetman and S. Banerjee, Solid State Electronic Devices,
Pearson Education, 6th edn., NJ, United States (2005).
21. J. Knoch and J. Appenzeller, DRC Conf. Proc. 1, 153 (2005).
22. C. C. Hu, Modern Semiconductor Devices for Integrated Circuits,
Pearson Education, New Jersey (2010), p. 31.
23. M. Luisier and G. Klimeck, SISPAD 1, 67 (2009).
24. J.-S. Jang and W. Y. Choi, J. Semicond. Technol. Sci. 11, 272 (2011).
25. Y. P. Tsividis, Operation and Modeling of the MOS Transistor,
2nd edn., McGraw-Hill, New York (1999), p. 467.
26. Q. Zhang, S. Sutar, T. Kosel, and A. Seabaugh, Solid-State Electron
53, 30 (2009).
27. S. Mookerjea, R. Krishnan, S. Datta, and V. Narayanan, IEEE Trans.
Electron. Device 56, 2092 (2009).
Received: 31 July 2012. Accepted: 20 December 2012.
J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 13, 8133–8136, 2013