ABSTRACT

Nanoscale physics has made wonders in semiconductor device technology which allows the alteration of device characteristics at nanometer scale. Lots of research is being made in nanoscale device technology in order to replace the existing silicon-based devices. In order to make advancements in these devices, it is of utmost importance to understand the basic phenomenon on which these devices work. To discuss the fundamentals of working principles in nanoscale devices, this chapter begins with the free electron and quantum theories to explain the dynamics of carriers in a solid material, which is followed by origin of band gap in solids and their approximate measures. The classification of low-dimensional materials is presented to understand the correlation between the electronic properties and the structure of the material. Moreover, the quantum confinement in low-dimensional materials and their density of states are discussed. Examples of semiconductor nanostructures, metallic nanostructures, and carbon nanostructures are also presented in detail. In addition, two basic calculations methods for device simulations, non-equilibrium Green’s function formalism and density functional theory are also discussed which are often reported in research literature.