Mechanism for current saturation and energy dissipation in graphene transistors

Ashley M DaSilva1, Ke Zou, J K Jain

  • 1Department of Physics, 104 Davey Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.

Physical Review Letters
|September 28, 2010
PubMed

Related Concept Videos

Semiconductors01:22

Semiconductors

There is variation in the electrical conductivity of materials - metals, semiconductors, and insulators that are showcased with the help of the energy band diagrams.
Metals such as copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), or lead (Pb) have low resistivity and feature conduction bands that are either not fully occupied or overlap with the valence band, making a bandgap non-existent. This allows electrons in the highest energy levels of the valence band to easily transition to the conduction band upon gaining...
Characteristics of MOSFET01:17

Characteristics of MOSFET

Metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect Transistors, or MOSFETs, play a critical role in electronic circuits. They are primarily utilized for amplifying and switching signals.
Various vital parameters influence their functionality, which is crucial for theory and electronics applications. First, channel dimensions, precisely length, and width, are pivotal. The size of these channels affects the transistor's ability to carry current and switching speeds; shorter channels typically enable quicker...
MOSFET: Depletion Mode01:20

MOSFET: Depletion Mode

Depletion-mode MOSFETs represent a unique subset of MOSFET technology, functioning fundamentally differently from their enhancement-mode counterparts. Unlike enhancement MOSFETs, which require a positive gate-source voltage (Vgs) to turn on, depletion-mode MOSFETs are inherently conductive and "normally on" devices.
The primary characteristic of depletion-mode MOSFETs is their ability to conduct current between the drain and source terminals without gate bias. This inherent conductivity arises...
Switching of BJT01:22

Switching of BJT

Switching behavior in Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJTs) is a fundamental aspect utilized in various electronic circuits, particularly for digital logic applications like switches and amplifiers. In a typical switching circuit, a BJT alternates between cut-off and saturation modes, corresponding to the "off" and "on" states, respectively, thus behaving like an ideal switch.
Cut-off Mode ("Off" State): In this state, both the emitter-base and collector-base junctions are reverse-biased. The...
Characteristics of JFET01:21

Characteristics of JFET

Junction Field Effect Transistors (JFETs) exhibit specific operational characteristics based on the relationship between the drain current (id) and the drain-source voltage (Vds), along with varying gate-source voltages (Vgs).
The core of a JFET's operation is controlling drain current by modulating the gate-source voltage. When the drain and gate voltage are set to zero, the JFET exhibits no net current flow, representing a state of equilibrium. The drain current increases linearly as the...
Carrier Transport01:21

Carrier Transport

The generation of electrical current in semiconductors is fundamentally driven by two mechanisms: drift and diffusion. These processes are essential for the functionality and performance of semiconductor-based devices.
Drift Current:
The drift of charge carriers is started by an external electric field (E). Charged particles, such as electrons and holes, experience an acceleration between collisions with lattice atoms. For electrons, this results in a drift velocity (vd) given by: