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Abstract
Tunneling field effect transistors (TFETs) have been proposed to overcome the fundamental issues of Si based transistors, such as short channel effect, finite leakage current, and high contact resistance. Unfortunately, most if not all TFETs are operational only at cryogenic temperatures. Here we report that iron (Fe) quantum dots functionalized boron nitride nanotubes (QDs-BNNTs) can be used as the flexible tunneling channels of TFETs at room temperatures. The electrical insulating BNNTs are used as the one-dimensional (1D) substrates to confine the uniform formation of Fe QDs on their surface as the flexible tunneling channel. Consistent semiconductor-like transport behaviors under various bending conditions are detected by scanning tunneling spectroscopy in a transmission electron microscopy system (in-situ STM-TEM). As suggested by computer simulation, the uniform distribution of Fe QDs enable an averaging effect on the possible electron tunneling pathways, which is responsible for the consistent transport properties that are not sensitive to bending.
Highlights
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs)[1] and graphene[2,3] have attracted tremendous research interest for applications in electronic devices
We have shown that boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) functionalized with a one-dimensional (1D) array of gold (Au) quantum dots on their outer surfaces (QDs-BNNTs) could be used as the tunneling channels for tunneling field effect transistors (TFETs) at room temperature[25,26]
This means that switches based on QDs-BNNTs represent a novel class of electronics without the use of semiconducting materials
Summary
Transistors received: 24 August 2015 accepted: 30 December 2015 Published: 05 February 2016. Results indicate that these TFETs are functional without involving any semiconducting properties as BNNTs are insulators and the QDs are metallic In this case, BNNTs serve as the one-dimensional (1D) substrates to confine the gold QDs into a linear tunneling channel that conduct current only if sufficient bias voltages are applied. The randomly distributed QDs will allow flexibility of electron tunneling at various alternative pathways when bending is introduced to different degrees Such an averaging effect offered by the randomly distributed QDs is an interesting feature for using Fe QDs-BNNTs as the tunneling channel in future flexible and wearable TFETs. It would be interesting to understand the carrier mobility of the devices. Theoretical simulation supports our explanation where the contribution of QDs deposited on the bent surfaces is not significant, in particular after an averaging effect occurred on the randomly distributed QDs. Fe QDs-BNNTs is a new class of functional materials for flexible switches without involving any semiconducting nature. This novel class of flexible electronics would potentially have a low heating effect, low contact resistant issue, and ignorable short channel effect, due to the quantum tunneling nature of the devices
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