Negative differential transconductance in silicon quantum well metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect/bipolar hybrid transistors

Abstract

Introducing explicit quantum transport into Si transistors in a manner amenable to industrial fabrication has proven challenging. Hybrid field-effect/bipolar Si transistors fabricated on an industrial 45 nm process line are shown to demonstrate explicit quantum transport signatures. These transistors incorporate a lateral ion implantation-defined quantum well (QW) whose potential depth is controlled by a gate voltage (VG). Quantum transport in the form of negative differential transconductance (NDTC) is observed to temperatures >200 K. The NDTC is tied to a non-monotonic dependence of bipolar current gain on VG that reduces drain-source current through the QW. These devices establish the feasibility of exploiting quantum transport to transform the performance horizons of Si devices fabricated in an industrially scalable manner.