Identifying atomically thin isolated-band channels for intrinsic steep-slope transistors by high-throughput study

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Solid-State Physics
• Electrical Engineering

Background:

• Developing low-power field-effect transistors (FETs) is crucial for advancing logic circuits, particularly as Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors (MOSFETs) approach sub-10 nanometer feature sizes.
• The performance of MOSFETs is currently limited by the thermionic limitation of the subthreshold swing (SS), which is restricted to 60 mV per decade at room temperature.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel strategy for realizing sub-thermionic SS in MOSFETs by utilizing 2D semiconductors with isolated-band features.
• To establish a guiding principle for identifying 2D materials with sub-thermionic transport potential based on atomic structure and orbital interactions.
• To screen a large database of 2D materials to identify promising candidates for low-power electronic applications.

Main Methods:

• Employed high-throughput calculations to screen a database of 1608 2D material systems.
• Developed a guiding principle combining atomic structure and orbital interactions to predict sub-thermionic transport potential.
• Analyzed the physical relationship between sub-thermionic transport performance and electronic structures.

Main Results:

• Screened 192 candidate 2D materials based on the established guiding principle.
• Identified 15 2D material systems exhibiting promising device performance for low-power applications with supply voltages below 0.5 V.
• Revealed the underlying physical mechanisms linking electronic structures to sub-thermionic transport properties.

Conclusions:

• The proposed strategy using 2D semiconductors with isolated bands offers a new pathway for achieving sub-thermionic SS in MOSFETs.
• This research provides a predictive framework for discovering novel 2D materials suitable for ultra-low power electronics.
• The findings are expected to stimulate experimental efforts in realizing intrinsic steep-slope MOSFETs for next-generation electronic devices.