Ultrathin sub-5 nm gate-all-around SiGe nanowire transistors with near-ideal subthreshold swing

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Abstract
Conventional gate-all-around (GAA) Si nanowire field-effect transistors (NWFETs) are reaching their fundamental scaling limits as channel length reduction exacerbates short-channel effects (SCEs). In this work, the performance of sub-5 nm gate-length (Lg) GAA SiGe NWFETs is systematically investigated using first-principles quantum transport simulations, revealing superior performance over conventional Si FETs. The results reveal that at Lg = 3 and 5 nm, key performance metrics such as on-state current (Ion), subthreshold swing (SS), delay time(τ), and power dissipation (PDP) meet the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) high-performance (HP) standards. At Lg = 5 nm, the n- and p-type devices demonstrate ultra-low SS values of 63 mV dec−1 and 89 mV dec−1, representing 42.2% and 14.4% reductions compared to conventional Si FETs, respectively. Furthermore, applying a −1% compressive strain significantly improves the performance of FETs, increasing the Ion by 41% and reducing the subthreshold swing, delay time, and power dissipation by 10%, 39%, and 14%, respectively. These findings underscore the significant potential of SiGe GAA NWFETs for future high-performance nanoelectronics.
Funding Information
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (62374134)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (12274002)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (12004307)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (61701402)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (62004163)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (61804125)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (62001382)
  • Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi Province (2025JC-YBMS-682)

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