Optimal Geometry Aspect Ratio of Ellipse-Shaped Surrounding-Gate Nanowire Field Effect Transistors

Abstract

Theoretically ideally round shape of the surrounding gate may not always guarantee because of limitations of the fabrication process in surrounding-gate nanowire field effect transistors (FETs). These limitations may lead to the formation of an ellipse-shaped surrounding gate with major and minor axes of different lengths. In this paper, we for the first time study the electrical characteristics of ellipse-shaped-surrounding-gate silicon nanowire FETs with different ratio of the major and minor axes. By simultaneously simulating engineering acceptable magnitudes of the threshold voltage roll off, the drain induced barrier lowering, the subthreshold swing, and the on-/off-state current ratio, an optimal geometry aspect ratio between the channel length and the major and minor axes of the ellipse-shaped-surrounding-gate nanowire FET is concluded.