Gallium nitride tunneling field-effect transistors exploiting polarization fields
Abstract
This report showcases a vertical tunnel field effect transistor (TFET) fabricated from a GaN/InGaN heterostructure and compares it to a gated vertical GaN p-n diode. By including a thin InGaN layer, the interband tunneling in the TFET is increased compared to the gated homojunction diode. This leads to an increased drain current of 57 μA/μm and a reduced subthreshold swing of 102 mV/dec, from 240 mV/dec. However, trap assisted tunneling prevents devices from realizing subthreshold slopes below the Boltzmann limit of 60 mV/dec. Nevertheless, this work shows the capability of tunnel field effect transistors to be realized in GaN by taking advantage of the spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization in the III-N material system.
- Publication:
-
Applied Physics Letters
- Pub Date:
- February 2020
- DOI:
- 10.1063/1.5132329
- Bibcode:
- 2020ApPhL.116g3502C