Self-consistent electrothermal Monte Carlo simulation of single InAs nanowire channel metal-insulator field-effect transistors

Abstract

Electron transport and self-heating effects are investigated in metal-insulator field-effect transistors with a single InAs nanowire channel, using a three-dimensional electrothermal Monte Carlo simulator based on finite-element meshing. The model, coupling an ensemble Monte Carlo simulation with the solution of the heat diffusion equation, is carefully calibrated with data from experimental work on these devices. This paper includes an electrothermal analysis of the device basic output characteristics as well the microscopic properties of transport, including current-voltage curves, heat generation and temperature distributions, and electron velocity profiles. Despite the low power dissipation, results predict significant peak temperatures, due to the high power density levels and the poor thermal management in these structures. The extent of device self-heating is shown to be strongly dependent on both device biasing configuration as well as geometry.