Kinetics of Quasiballistic Transport in Nanoscale Semiconductor Structures: Is the Ballistic Limit Attainable at Room Temperature?

Abstract

Electron transport in nanoscale semiconductor structures is theoretically investigated to answer the question of whether or not the ballistic limit is really attainable under room temperature operation. The semiclassical Boltzmann transport equation is solved analytically under the relaxation time approximation for n(+)-n-n(+) test structures. We demonstrate that the solution of the Boltzmann transport equation exhibits a boundary layer structure near the potential barrier and thus the scatterings in the active region cannot be neglected even in nanoscale structures, as far as they are operated at room temperature under high applied voltages.