ABSTRACT
TFETs are being investigated for use in different types of applications such as conventional logic gates, memories, sensors, and various analog circuits. Several theoretical studies have demonstrated that circuits employing TFETs can outperform conventional CMOS circuits at low supply voltages, especially in terms of energy efficiency. These results have encouraged researchers to explore circuits where the special properties of TFETs can be exploited to obtain energy and power savings. Since TFETs exhibit electrical characteristics that are quite distinct from a conventional MOSFET, novel circuit applications based on TFETs are possible. Moreover, in contrast to a conventional MOSFET, TFETs exhibit electrical characteristics such as unidirectional current flow and exponential onset of drain current in the output characteristics. These electrical characteristics pose new challenges in circuit applications of TFETs. A given CMOS circuit cannot be made functional just by replacing MOSFETs with similar TFETs. As a result, researchers are exploring innovative circuits and TFET architectures to tackle the challenges in the circuit applications of TFETs.
