High‐speed sub‐threshold operation of carbon nanotube interconnects

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Abstract
Sub‐threshold voltage operated circuits are the future for ultra‐low‐power applications. These circuits are inherently slow due to the very small sub‐threshold currents. Here, the authors propose two approaches for improving the speed of SWCNT bundle interconnects driven by CNTFET‐based circuits under sub‐threshold conditions. First, the authors modulate the channel length of the CNTFETs that are used in the driver circuits to increase sub‐threshold output current. The output current is maximum when the channel length is optimised to 15 nm. Second, the authors design driver circuits made of CNTFET‐based inverters and transmission gates for SWCNT bundle interconnects at sub‐threshold voltages. The authors consider five different configurations of the driver and load circuits. SPICE simulations show that transmission gates play a vital role in driver circuits by reducing the propagation delay and increasing the switching speed at high frequencies. Finally, the authors perform temperature‐dependent analysis of the best cases from the proposed circuits and show that the propagation delay and power dissipated by them increases drastically at increased temperatures up to 500 K.

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