Model and performance evaluation of field-effect transistors based on epitaxial graphene on SiC

TL;DR

This paper models and evaluates the performance of nanoscale field-effect transistors using epitaxial graphene on SiC, demonstrating promising current modulation and subthreshold slope improvements, advancing graphene-based electronics.

Contribution

It presents a new model and performance assessment for epitaxial graphene FETs, exploring design parameters and potential for digital applications.

Findings

Current modulated by 4 orders of magnitude

Ion/Ioff ratio of 50 at 0.25 V supply

Subthreshold slope of 145 mV/decade

Abstract

In view of the appreciable semiconducting gap of 0.26 eV observed in recent experiments, epitaxial graphene on a SiC substrate seems a promising channel material for FETs. Indeed, it is two-dimensional - and therefore does not require prohibitive lithography - and exhibits a wider gap than other alternative options, such as bilayer graphene. Here we propose a model and assess the achievable performance of a nanoscale FET based on epitaxial graphene on SiC, conducting an exploration of the design parameter space. We show that the current can be modulated by 4 orders of magnitude; for digital applications an Ion /Ioff ratio of 50 and a subthreshold slope of 145 mV/decade can be obtained with a supply voltage of 0.25 V. This represents a significant progress towards solid-state integration of graphene electronics, but not yet sufficient for digital applications.