A CMOS-integrable ambipolar tellurene nanofilm-based negative differential transconductance transistor for...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Electronics Engineering

Background:

• Development of nanomaterial-based ternary inverters is often limited by complex fabrication processes, hindering scalability and integration.
• Existing approaches struggle to achieve multi-valued logic computing efficiently and with simplified manufacturing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible ambipolar tellurium (Te) nanofilm transistor.
• To demonstrate the potential of this transistor for multi-valued logic computing applications.
• To achieve negative differential transconductance (NDT) without complex fabrication.

Main Methods:

• Hydrothermal synthesis of Te nanoflakes.
• Encapsulation of Te nanoflakes in an Al₂O₃ thin film using thermal atomic layer deposition.
• Fabrication and characterization of Te transistor-based ternary inverters.

Main Results:

• The Te nanofilm transistor exhibited ambipolar behavior and distinct negative differential transconductance (NDT) characteristics.
• The device demonstrated transitions through hole diffusion, band-to-band tunneling, and electron conduction, driven by Fermi level modulation.
• A Te transistor-based ternary inverter successfully achieved three stable logic states with a clear intermediate voltage.

Conclusions:

• The developed Te-based NDT transistors offer a promising pathway for next-generation computing architectures.
• These transistors enable high-data-density and energy-efficient operations.
• The simplified fabrication process enhances the potential for practical integration and scalability.