Simulation-based study of negative-capacitance double-gate tunnel field-effect transistor with ferroelectric gate stack

The concept of ferroelectric (FE) negative capacitance (NC) may be a turning point in overcoming the physical limitations imposed by the Boltzmann tyranny to realize next-generation state-of-the-art devices. Both the body factor (m-factor) and the transport mechanism (n-factor) are simultaneously improved by integrating an NC with a tunnel FET (TFET). The modeling approach is discussed in this study as well as the NC physics. By optimizing the thicknesses of FE, semiconductor, and interfacial layers, the capacitance of the FE layers is modulated to match that of a MOS resulting in the smallest subthreshold swing that is also hysteresis-free. An ultrathin-body double gate tunnel FET (UTB-DG-TFET) exhibits a steep slope (a subthreshold swing below 10mV/dec over more than 4 orders of magnitude) for low-power applications (<0.2V switching voltage) to realize next-generation state-of-the-art devices.