Mobility oscillation by one-dimensional quantum confinement in Si-nanowire metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors

Abstract

Si-nanowire p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs), in which the typical cross section of the nanowire is a rectangular shape with 3 nm height and 18 nm width, have been fabricated and the current-voltage characteristics have been measured from 101 to 396 K. The transconductance has shown oscillation up to 309 K. The carrier transport has been theoretically analyzed, assuming that the acoustic phonon scattering is dominant. The electronic states have been determined from the effective mass approximation and the mobility from the relaxation time approximation as a function of the Fermi level. Relation between the gate voltage and the Fermi level has been estimated from the MOSFET structure. The calculated mobility has shown the oscillation with change in the Fermi level (the gate voltage), resulting in the transconductance oscillation. The oscillation originates from one-dimensional density of states (∝E−0.5).