ABSTRACT

TFETs are being considered as a substitute for the conventional MOSFET for advanced technology nodes. To achieve this, TFETs must exhibit an ON-state current (ION ) of around 100 µA/µm, along with an ON-state current to OFFstate current ratio (ION/IOFF ) of around 10

6, for supply voltages lower than 0.5 V [1]. However, band-to-band tunneling (BTBT), the physical principle responsible for the current transport in a TFET, inherently supports a low ION . Therefore, the ION exhibited by a conventional TFET is extremely low and typically fails to meet the above-mentioned requirements by a few orders of magnitude. This is the most severe limitation of TFETs and unless this obstacle is overcome, TFETs cannot be deployed in the mainstream CMOS technology. As a result, a great deal of research on TFETs has been directed toward boosting their ION .