Multifunctional devices and logic gates with undoped silicon nanowires

Nano Lett. 2012 Jun 13;12(6):3074-9. doi: 10.1021/nl300930m. Epub 2012 May 29.

Abstract

We report on the electronic transport properties of multiple-gate devices fabricated from undoped silicon nanowires. Understanding and control of the relevant transport mechanisms was achieved by means of local electrostatic gating and temperature-dependent measurements. The roles of the source/drain contacts and of the silicon channel could be independently evaluated and tuned. Wrap gates surrounding the silicide-silicon contact interfaces were proved to be effective in inducing a full suppression of the contact Schottky barriers, thereby enabling carrier injection down to liquid helium temperature. By independently tuning the effective Schottky barrier heights, a variety of reconfigurable device functionalities could be obtained. In particular, the same nanowire device could be configured to work as a Schottky barrier transistor, a Schottky diode, or a p-n diode with tunable polarities. This versatility was eventually exploited to realize a NAND logic gate with gain well above one.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Equipment Design
  • Equipment Failure Analysis
  • Nanostructures / chemistry*
  • Nanostructures / ultrastructure*
  • Nanotechnology / instrumentation*
  • Semiconductors*
  • Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted / instrumentation*
  • Silicon / chemistry*
  • Transistors, Electronic*

Substances

  • Silicon