Dopingless PNPN tunnel FET with improved performance: Design and analysis

•TFETs have emerged as an important alternative to the conventional MOSFETs for low power applications.•Recently, dopingless TEFTs have been demonstrated using the charge plasma concept.•However, the ON-state current of dopingless TFETs is very low.•This paper for the first time demonstrates that high ON-state currents can be realized in dopingless TFETs.•Our approach makes the dopingless TFETs attractive for future low power applications.

In this paper, we present a two-dimensional simulation study of a dopingless PNPN TFET with a hetero-gate dielectric. Using a dual-material-gate in a dopingless TFET, the energy band gap on the source side is modulated to create an N+ source pocket. Our technique obviates the need to use ion implantation for the formation of the N+ source pocket. The dopingless PNPN TFET with a hetero-gate dielectric is demonstrated to exhibit a superior performance in terms of ON-state current and subthreshold swing when compared to a conventional dopingless TFET. Our results may pave the way for realizing high performance dopingless TFETs using a low thermal budget required for low power and low cost applications.

Graphical abstractA dopingless PNPN TFET is reported in this paper with significantly improved ON-state current and low subthreshold swing making it attractive for low-power applications.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide