High-Performance Silicon Nanowire Reconfigurable Field Effect Transistors Using Flash Lamp Annealing.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Top-down fabrication of reconfigurable field-effect transistors (RFETs) is crucial for large-scale integration.
• Silicon (Si) nanowire-based RFETs require controlled silicidation, high on-off ratios, and symmetrical currents for superior performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the electrical performance of scalable RFET devices based on Si nanowires.
• To optimize transistor electronic properties through gate schemes and dielectric materials.
• To explore gate capacitive control on charge carrier energy bands.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of scalable Si nanowire RFETs.
• Millisecond-range flash lamp annealing (FLA) for controlled silicide formation.
• Tuning gate schemes and dielectric materials (e.g., SiO2) for nanowire passivation.

Main Results:

• Achieved enhanced ambipolar behavior with negligible hysteresis in top-gated devices.
• Demonstrated low subthreshold swing (210 mV/dec) and high on-off ratio (up to ~10^8).
• Obtained excellent electron and hole symmetry with a record pn on-current symmetry of 1.03.

Conclusions:

• High-performance, scalable RFETs with controlled silicide lengths and optimized gate schemes are achievable.
• These devices offer superior electrical characteristics, including high on-off ratios and symmetrical currents.
• The developed RFETs hold significant potential for reducing delay and power consumption in energy-efficient integrated circuitry.