Large capacitance enhancement is useful for increasing the gate capacitance of field-effect transistors (FETs) to produce low-energy-consuming devices with improved gate controllability. We report strong capacitance enhancement effects in a newly emerged two-dimensional channel material, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2). The enhancement effects are due to strong electron-electron interaction at the low carrier density regime in MoS2. We achieve about 50% capacitance enhancement in monolayer devices and 10% capacitance enhancement in bilayer devices. However, the enhancement effect is not obvious in multilayer (layer number >3) devices. Using the Hartree-Fock approximation, we illustrate the same trend in our inverse compressibility data.
Physical phenomena underlying operation of ferroelectric field-effect transistors (FeFETs) is treated within a unified simulation framework. The framework incorporates the Landau mean-field treatment of free energy of a ferroelectric and the polarization dynamics according to Landau-Khalatnikov (LK) equation. These equations are self-consistently solved with the one-dimensional metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) structure electrostatics and the drift-diffusion solution for the current in the semiconductor channel. Numerical simulations demonstrate, depending on the ferroelectric (FE) thickness, b…
Electric field dependent capacitance and dielectric loss in poly(3-hexylthiophene) are measured by precision capacitance bridge. Carrier mobility and density are estimated from fits to current-voltage and capacitance data. The capacitance varies largely at lower frequency, and it decreases at higher electric fields. The negative capacitance at low frequency and high field is due to the negative phase angle between the dipole field and the ac signal. The intrinsic carrier density is calculated from fits to the Mott-Schottky equation, and this is consistent with I-V data analysis. At higher freq…
This paper analyzes the design space stability of negative capacitance double gate junctionless FETs (NCDG JLFET). Using analytical expressions derived from a charge-based model, we predict instability condition, hysteresis voltage, and critical thickness of the ferroelectric layers giving rise to the negative capacitance behavior. The impact of the technological parameters is investigated in order to ensure hysteresis-free operation. Finally, the stability of NCDG JLFET is predicted over a wide range of temperatures from 77K to 400K. This approach has been assessed with numerical TCAD simulat…
We analyze the distributions of electric potential and field, polarization and charge, and the differential capacitance of a silicon metal-oxide-ferroelectric field effect transistor (MOSFET), in which a gate insulator consists of thin layers of dielectric SiO2 and weak ferroelectric HfO2. It appeared possible to achieve a quasi-steady-state negative capacitance of the HfO2 layer, C_(HfO_2 )<0, if the layer thickness is close to the critical thickness of the size-induced ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition. The quasi-steady-state negative capacitance, being a very slow-varying transien…
A comprehensive study of the scaling of negative capacitance FinFET (NC-FinFET) is conducted with TCAD. We show that the NC-FinFET can be scaled to "2.1nm node" and almost "1.5nm node" that comes two nodes after the industry "3nm node," which has 16nm Lg and is the last FinFET node according to the International Roadmap for Devices and Systems (IRDS). In addition, for the intervening nodes, NC-FinFET can meet IRDS Ion and Ioff target at target-beating VDD. The benefits of negative capacitance (NC) include improved subthreshold slope (SS), drain-induced barrier lowering (DIBL), Vt roll-off, tra…
The elegant simplicity of the device concept and the urgent need for a new "transistor" at the twilight of Moore's law have inspired many researchers in industry and academia to explore the physics and technology of negative capacitance field effect transistor (NC-FET). Although hundreds of papers have been published, the validity of quasi-static NC and the frequency-reliability limits of NC-FET are still being debated. The concept of NC - if conclusively demonstrated - will have broad impacts on device physics and technology development. Here, the authors provide a critical review of recent p…
Recent measurements on ultra-thin body Negative Capacitance Field Effect Transistors have shown subthreshold behaviors that are not expected in a classical MOSFET. Specifically, subthreshold swing was found to decrease with increased gate bias in the subthreshold region for devices measured over multiple gate lengths down to 30 nm. In addition, improvement in the subthreshold swing relative to control devices showed a non-monotonic dependence on the gate length. In this paper, using a Landau-Khanatnikov ferroelectric gate stack model calibrated with measured Capacitance-Voltage, we show that b…
Boltzmann tyranny poses a fundamental limit to lowering the energy dissipation of conventional MOS devices, a minimum increase of the gate voltage, i.e. 60 mV, is required for a 10-fold increase in drain-to-source current at 300 K. Negative Capacitance (NC) in ferroelectric materials is proposed in order to address this physical limitation of CMOS technology. A polarization destabilization in ferroelectrics causes an effective negative permittivity, resulting in a differential voltage amplification and a reduced subthreshold swing when integrated into the gate stack of a transistor. Recent dem…
In this paper, we take a fresh look at the physics and operation of Negative Capacitance FETs, and provide unambiguous feedback to the device designers by examining NC-FETs' design space for sub-60 mV/dec Subthreshold Swing (SS). Straightforward design rule is derived, for the first time, based on the capacitor network in NC-FETs. Contrary to many ongoing efforts, it is found that: 1) state-of-the-art MOSFET platforms, such as SOI, FinFET, 2D-FET etc., are not suitable for constructing small-SS NC-FETs, unless internal metal gate is introduced; 2) quantum capacitance prevents NC-FETs from achi…
Transient negative differential capacitance (NC), the dynamic reversal of transient capacitance in an electrical circuit is of highly technological and scientific interest since it probes the foundation of ferroelectricity. In this letter, we study a resistor-ferroelectric capacitor (R-FeC) network through a series of coupled equations based on Kirchhoff's law, Electrostatics, and Landau theory. We show that transient NC in a R-FeC circuit originates from the mismatch between rate of free charge change on the metal plate and that of bound charge change in a ferroelectric (FE) capacitor during …
This paper investigates the thermodynamic driving force of transient negative capacitance (NC) in the series circuit of the resistor and ferroelectric capacitor (R-FEC). We find that the widely used Landau-Khalatnikov (L-K) theory, that is, the minimum of the Gibbs free energy, is inapplicable to explain the transient NC. The thermodynamic driving force of the transient NC phenomenon is the minimum of the difference between the elastic Gibbs free energy and the electric polarization work. The appearance of the transient NC phenomenon is not due to the widely accepted view that the ferroelectri…
We propose a framework to model ferroelectric negative capacitance: electrostatic Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) hybrid actuators and analyze their dynamic (step input) response. Using this framework, we report the first proposal for reduction in the dynamic pull-in and pull-out voltages of the hybrid actuators due to the negative capacitance of the ferroelectric. The proposed model also reveals the effect of ferroelectric thickness on the dynamic pull-in and pull-out voltages and the effect of ferroelectric damping on the energy dissipated during actuation. We infer from our analysis…
Crystalline materials with broken inversion symmetry can exhibit a spontaneous electric polarization, which originates from a microscopic electric dipole moment. Long-range polar or anti-polar order of such permanent dipoles gives rise to ferroelectricity or antiferroelectricity, respectively. However, the recently discovered antiferroelectrics of fluorite structure (HfO$_2$ and ZrO$_2$) are different: A non-polar phase transforms into a polar phase by spontaneous inversion symmetry breaking upon the application of an electric field. Here, we show that this structural transition in antiferroel…
Side-channel attacks have empowered bypassing of cryptographic components in circuits. Power side-channel (PSC) attacks have received particular traction, owing to their non-invasiveness and proven effectiveness. Aside from prior art focused on conventional technologies, this is the first work to investigate the emerging Negative Capacitance Transistor (NCFET) technology in the context of PSC attacks. We implement a CAD flow for PSC evaluation at design-time. It leverages industry-standard design tools, while also employing the widely-accepted correlation power analysis (CPA) attack. Using sta…
In this paper, an analytical predictive model of the negative capacitance (NC) effect in symmetric long channel double-gate junctionless transistor is proposed based on a charge-based model. In particular, we have investigated the effect of the thickness of the ferroelectric on the I-V characteristics. Importantly, for the first time, our model predicts that the negative capacitance minimizes short channel effects and enhances current overdrive, enabling both low power operation and more efficient transistor size scaling, while the effect on reducing subthreshold slope shows systematic improve…
In this paper, we present the dynamics and modeling of multi-domains in the ferroelectric FET (FeFET). Due to the periodic texture of domains, the electrostatics of the FeFET exhibit an oscillatory conduction band profile. To capture such oscillations, we solve coupled 2-D Poisson's equation with the net ferroelectric energy density (gradient energy + free energy + depolarization energy) equation. Multi-domain dynamics are captured by minimizing the net ferroelectric energy leading to a thermodynamically stable state. Furthermore, we show that the motion of domain walls originates local bound …
Analytical modeling and dynamics of multidomain in metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor (MFIS)-FETs are presented in this paper. The formation of multi-domain (MD) leads to oscillations in the conduction band in the channel and periodicity in the local electric field in the ferroelectric region. The impact of 2-D local electric field on the MD switching is captured in the model using the domain wall velocity concept. The optimum values of oxide thickness, ferroelectric thickness and channel length are calculated which corresponds to mono-domain device operation. Deviation from the optim…
This study simulated negative-capacitance double gate FinFETs with channel lengths ranging from 25nm to 100nm using TCAD. The results show that negative capacitance significantly reduces subthreshold swing as well as drain induced barrier lowering effects. The improvement is found to be significantly more prominent for short channel devices than long ones, which demonstrates the tremendous advantage of negative capacitance gate stack for scaled MOSFETs. A compact analytical formulation is developed to quantify sub-threshold swing improvement for short channel devices.
Ion-Sensitive Field-Effect Transistors (ISFETs) form a wide-spread technology for sensing, thanks to their label-free detection and intrinsic CMOS compatibility. Their current sensitivity, ΔID/ID, for a given ΔpH, however, is limited by the thermionic limit for the Subthreshold Slope (SS) of Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors(MOSFET) and by the Nernst limit. Obtaining ISFETs with a steep slope transfer characteristics is extremely challenging. In this paper we combine the merits of traditional ISFETs with the performance boosts offered by the insertion of a Negative Capacitor i…
In this work, we analyze the ferroelectric (FE) domain-wall (DW) induced negative capacitance (NC) effect in Metal-FE-Insulator-Metal (MFIM) and Metal-FE-Insulator-Semiconductor (MFIS) stacks. Our analysis is based on 2D phase field simulations. Considering HZO as the FE material, we study 180 FE domain formation in MFIM and MFIS stacks and their voltage-dependent DW motion. Our analysis signifies that, when FE is in multi-domain (MD) state with soft-DW, the stored energy in the DW leads to non-hysteretic NC effect in FE, which provides an enhanced charge response in the MFIM stack, compared t…
The negative capacitance (NC) stabilization of a ferroelectric (FE) material can potentially provide an alternative way to further reduce the power consumption in ultra-scaled devices and thus has been of great interest in technology and science in the past decade. In this article, we present a physical picture for a better understanding of the hysteresis-free charge boost effect observed experimentally in metal-ferroelectric-insulator-metal (MFIM) capacitors. By introducing the dielectric (DE) leakage and interfacial trapped charges, our simulations of the hysteresis loops are in a strong agr…
From Microscale Variations to Macroscopic Effects: Directional Actuation, Phase Transition, and Negative Compressibility in Microfiber-Based Shape-Morphing Networks
