Shrinking limits of silicon MOSFETs: numerical study of 10 nm scale devices

We have performed numerical modeling of dual-gate ballistic n-MOSFETs with channel length of the order of 10 nm, including the effects of quantum tunn eling along the channel and through the gate oxide. Our analysis includes a self-consistent solution of the full (two-dimensional) electrostatic probl em, with account of electric field penetration into the heavily doped elect rodes. The results show that transistors with:channel length as small as nm can exhibit either a transconductance up to 4000 mS mm(-1) or gate modulat ion of current by more than 8 orders of magnitude, depending on the gate ox ide thickness. These characteristics make the devices satisfactory for logi c-and memory applications, respectively, although their gate threshold volt age is rather sensitive to nanometer-scale variations in the channel length . (C) 2000 Academic Press.