A Theoretical Model of Band-to-Band Tunneling Current in an Armchair Graphene Nanoribbon Tunnel Field-Effect Transistor

Abstract

Tunneling current in an armchair graphene nanoribbon (AGNR) tunnel field-effect transistor (TFET) was modeled. A linear equation was employed in describing a potential distribution within the AGNR due to its simplicity. A parabolic dispersion and an electron effective mass obtained by approximating kx 0 to the parabolic dispersion were applied to AGNR. In order to obtain electron transmittance, electron wavefunctions in AGNR were based on Airy functions. The obtained transmittance was then applied to calculate the tunneling current by employing the Landauer formula. The calculated results showed that the tunneling current increases with the AGNR width. It was also shown that the tunneling current increases as temperature decreases. In addition, the gate voltage influences the saturation condition of tunneling current in AGNR TFETs.