Measuring the capacitance of individual semiconductor nanowires for carrier mobility assessment

Capacitance-voltage characteristics of individual germanium nanowire field effect transistors were directly measured and used to assess carrier mobility in nanowires for the first time, thereby removing uncertainties in calculated mobility due to device geometries, surface and interface states, and gate dielectric constants and thicknesses. Direct experimental evidence showed that surround-gated nanowire transistors exhibit higher capacitance and better electrostatic gate control than top-gated devices, and are the most promising structure for future high performance nanoelectronics.