A silicone nanocrystal tunnel field effect transistor

In this work, we demonstrate a silicon nanocrystal Field Effect Transistor (ncFET). Its operation is similar to that of a Tunnelling Field Effect Transistor (TFET) with two barriers in series. The tunnelling barriers are fabricated in very thin silicon dioxide and the channel in intrinsic polycrystalline silicon. The absence of doping eliminates the problem of achieving sharp doping profiles at the junctions, which has proven a challenge for large-scale integration and, in principle, allows scaling down the atomic level. The demonstrated ncFET features a 104 on/off current ratio at room temperature, a low 30pA/lm leakage current at a 0.5V bias, an on-state current on a par with typical all-Si TFETs and bipolar operation with high symmetry. Quantum dot transport spectroscopy is used to assess the band structure and energy levels of the silicon island.