Mechanisms of forward current transport in vertical nanoscale devices: insights and applications

Current transport at metal/semiconductor interface becomes critical to determining ultimate limit in performance of two-dimensional (2D) electronic devices. In this work, we study output characteristics as well as carrier transport of the vertical Schottky-contact 2D transistors and diodes, by exper...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Long Chen, Liting Liu, Hongfu Li, Xingqiang Liu, Yuan Liu, Jean-Pierre Raskin, Denis Flandre, Guoli Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:Nano Express
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/2632-959X/ad9853
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850099119861792768
author Long Chen
Liting Liu
Hongfu Li
Xingqiang Liu
Yuan Liu
Jean-Pierre Raskin
Denis Flandre
Guoli Li
author_facet Long Chen
Liting Liu
Hongfu Li
Xingqiang Liu
Yuan Liu
Jean-Pierre Raskin
Denis Flandre
Guoli Li
author_sort Long Chen
collection DOAJ
description Current transport at metal/semiconductor interface becomes critical to determining ultimate limit in performance of two-dimensional (2D) electronic devices. In this work, we study output characteristics as well as carrier transport of the vertical Schottky-contact 2D transistors and diodes, by experimental measurements and detailed TCAD simulations. Device output current under the forward bias is primarily attributed to thermionic emission (TE) mechanism, then tunneling occurs and becomes the dominant interfacial charge transport in the few-layered MoS _2 transistors. While shrinking the vertical channel length from 20 nm to 3.6 and increasing the applied voltage, tunneling ratio rises above 90% for the sub-5 nm scale, indicating the dominated tunneling mechanism. Simultaneously, the Schottky diode loses its rectification ability. Noticeably, Fowler–Nordheim tunneling (FNT) mechanism cannot be accurately identified through the linear slope of ln( I / V ^2 ) versus 1/ V (FN-relation) of output current under high electric field, due to the co-existing thermionic current that displays a linear-like feature in the FN-relation plots. The transition from TE to FNT and direct tunneling (DT) regimes can be identified by analyzing the output current components and FN-relation of tunneling current. These results can be employed to understand physical insights and transport limitations of the nanoscale electronics, and to optimize the device design and performance for their ultra-scaled, low-power applications.
format Article
id doaj-art-3af32678c1994e2bbadb209c7aac68fe
institution DOAJ
issn 2632-959X
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher IOP Publishing
record_format Article
series Nano Express
spelling doaj-art-3af32678c1994e2bbadb209c7aac68fe2025-08-20T02:40:33ZengIOP PublishingNano Express2632-959X2025-01-016101502210.1088/2632-959X/ad9853Mechanisms of forward current transport in vertical nanoscale devices: insights and applicationsLong Chen0Liting Liu1Hongfu Li2Xingqiang Liu3Yuan Liu4Jean-Pierre Raskin5Denis Flandre6Guoli Li7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7440-5295Key Laboratory for Micro/Nano-Optoelectronic Devices of Ministry of Education, and International Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Base for Advanced Display Technologies of Hunan Province, School of Physics and Electronics, Hunan University , Changsha 410082, People’s Republic of China; Research Institute of Hunan University in Chongqing , Chongqing 401135, People’s Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory for Micro/Nano-Optoelectronic Devices of Ministry of Education, and International Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Base for Advanced Display Technologies of Hunan Province, School of Physics and Electronics, Hunan University , Changsha 410082, People’s Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory for Micro/Nano-Optoelectronic Devices of Ministry of Education, and International Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Base for Advanced Display Technologies of Hunan Province, School of Physics and Electronics, Hunan University , Changsha 410082, People’s Republic of ChinaCollege of Semiconductors (College of Integrated Circuits), Hunan University , Changsha 410082, People’s Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory for Micro/Nano-Optoelectronic Devices of Ministry of Education, and International Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Base for Advanced Display Technologies of Hunan Province, School of Physics and Electronics, Hunan University , Changsha 410082, People’s Republic of ChinaInstitute of Information and Communication Technologies, Electronics and Applied Mathematics, Université Catholique de Louvain , Louvain-la-Neuve 1348, BelgiumInstitute of Information and Communication Technologies, Electronics and Applied Mathematics, Université Catholique de Louvain , Louvain-la-Neuve 1348, BelgiumKey Laboratory for Micro/Nano-Optoelectronic Devices of Ministry of Education, and International Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Base for Advanced Display Technologies of Hunan Province, School of Physics and Electronics, Hunan University , Changsha 410082, People’s Republic of China; College of Semiconductors (College of Integrated Circuits), Hunan University , Changsha 410082, People’s Republic of ChinaCurrent transport at metal/semiconductor interface becomes critical to determining ultimate limit in performance of two-dimensional (2D) electronic devices. In this work, we study output characteristics as well as carrier transport of the vertical Schottky-contact 2D transistors and diodes, by experimental measurements and detailed TCAD simulations. Device output current under the forward bias is primarily attributed to thermionic emission (TE) mechanism, then tunneling occurs and becomes the dominant interfacial charge transport in the few-layered MoS _2 transistors. While shrinking the vertical channel length from 20 nm to 3.6 and increasing the applied voltage, tunneling ratio rises above 90% for the sub-5 nm scale, indicating the dominated tunneling mechanism. Simultaneously, the Schottky diode loses its rectification ability. Noticeably, Fowler–Nordheim tunneling (FNT) mechanism cannot be accurately identified through the linear slope of ln( I / V ^2 ) versus 1/ V (FN-relation) of output current under high electric field, due to the co-existing thermionic current that displays a linear-like feature in the FN-relation plots. The transition from TE to FNT and direct tunneling (DT) regimes can be identified by analyzing the output current components and FN-relation of tunneling current. These results can be employed to understand physical insights and transport limitations of the nanoscale electronics, and to optimize the device design and performance for their ultra-scaled, low-power applications.https://doi.org/10.1088/2632-959X/ad98532D materialcurrent transportvertical devicesimulation
spellingShingle Long Chen
Liting Liu
Hongfu Li
Xingqiang Liu
Yuan Liu
Jean-Pierre Raskin
Denis Flandre
Guoli Li
Mechanisms of forward current transport in vertical nanoscale devices: insights and applications
Nano Express
2D material
current transport
vertical device
simulation
title Mechanisms of forward current transport in vertical nanoscale devices: insights and applications
title_full Mechanisms of forward current transport in vertical nanoscale devices: insights and applications
title_fullStr Mechanisms of forward current transport in vertical nanoscale devices: insights and applications
title_full_unstemmed Mechanisms of forward current transport in vertical nanoscale devices: insights and applications
title_short Mechanisms of forward current transport in vertical nanoscale devices: insights and applications
title_sort mechanisms of forward current transport in vertical nanoscale devices insights and applications
topic 2D material
current transport
vertical device
simulation
url https://doi.org/10.1088/2632-959X/ad9853
work_keys_str_mv AT longchen mechanismsofforwardcurrenttransportinverticalnanoscaledevicesinsightsandapplications
AT litingliu mechanismsofforwardcurrenttransportinverticalnanoscaledevicesinsightsandapplications
AT hongfuli mechanismsofforwardcurrenttransportinverticalnanoscaledevicesinsightsandapplications
AT xingqiangliu mechanismsofforwardcurrenttransportinverticalnanoscaledevicesinsightsandapplications
AT yuanliu mechanismsofforwardcurrenttransportinverticalnanoscaledevicesinsightsandapplications
AT jeanpierreraskin mechanismsofforwardcurrenttransportinverticalnanoscaledevicesinsightsandapplications
AT denisflandre mechanismsofforwardcurrenttransportinverticalnanoscaledevicesinsightsandapplications
AT guolili mechanismsofforwardcurrenttransportinverticalnanoscaledevicesinsightsandapplications