Ultrahigh Frequency Carbon Nanotube Transistor Based on a Single Nanotube

Single-walled carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (CNT FETs) are predicted to have intrinsic cutoff frequencies approaching the THz range. Here ldquointrinsicrdquo means that the parasitic capacitance due to fringing fields is negligible compared to the gate-source capacitance required to modulate the conductance. In practice, although there are strategies proposed to mitigate this based on parallel arrays of CNT FETs, this parasitic capacitance dominates most geometries (even aligned arrays to date). In this work we show nanotube transistor performance with maximum stable gain above 1 GHz (even including the parasitics) by combining ldquoon-chiprdquo the electrical properties of 100 CNT FETs fabricated on one long nanotube. This also solves the problem of impedance matching by boosting the on current to a large (mA) value, and at the same time allows one to extract properties of each individual CNT FET, since they are identical in electrical characteristics as they are made out of the same CNT. This strategy opens the door to applications of carbon nanotube devices in the RF and microwave frequency range, a technologically relevant portion of the spectrum for both wired and wireless electronics, that has been (until now) incompatible with nanotube device technology.     

Surface channel MESFETs on hydrogenated diamond

Metal–semiconductor field effect transistors (MESFETs) based on hydrogen terminated diamond were fabricated according to different layouts. Aluminum gates were used on single crystal and low-roughness polycrystalline diamond substrates while gold was used for ohmic contacts. Hydrogen terminated layers were deeply investigated by means of Hall bars and transfer length structures. Room temperature Hall and field effect mobility values in excess of 100 cm2 V?1 s?1 were measured on commercial and single crystal epitaxial growth (100) plates by using the same hydrogenation process. Hydrogen induced two-dimensional hole gas resulted in sheet resistances essentially stable and repeatable depending on the substrate quality. Self-aligned 400 nm gate length FETs on single crystal substrates showed current density and transconductance values>100 mA mm?1 and >40 mS mm?1, respectively. Devices with gate length LG=200 nm showed fMax=26.4 GHz and fT=13.2 GHz whereas those fabricated on polycrystalline diamond, with the same gate geometry, exceeded fMax=23 GHz and fT=7 GHz. This work focused on the optimization of a self-aligned gate structure with respect to the fixed drain-to-source structure with which we observed higher frequency values; the new structure resulted in improvement of DC characteristics, better impedance matching and a reduction in the fMax/fT ratio.     

Measuring Frequency Response of a Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Common-Source Amplifier

Frequency response function (FRF) showing ac gain from a single-walled carbon nanotube transistor is presented. A top-gated carbon nanotube FET (CNFET) is configured as a common-source amplifier and the FRF of the amplifier is measured. Evidence of unambiguous signal amplification is observed in time domain as well as frequency domain up to a unity voltage gain frequency of approximately 560 kHz. The observed roll-off in frequency is solely due to the RC time constant of the measurement apparatus. A specifically designed circuit-compatible SPICE model for the CNFET is used to model both dc and ac characteristic with the same set of physical parameters. Good agreement between measurement and simulation is obtained. For a device without the parasitic load capacitance, we predict an intrinsic unity voltage gain frequency of 29 GHz and a cutoff frequency of $sim {50}$ GHz.      

Carbon Nanotube Diodes Operating at Frequencies of Over 50 GHz

Radiofrequency (RF) diodes used for fifth and sixth-generation (5G and 6G) mobile and wireless communication networks generally require ultrahigh cut-off frequencies and high integration densities of devices with different functions on a single chip and at low cost. Carbon nanotube diodes are promising devices for radiofrequency applications, but the cut-off frequencies are still far below the theoretical estimates. Here, a carbon nanotube diode that operates in the millimeter-wave frequency bands and is based on solution-processed, high-purity carbon nanotube network films is reported. The carbon nanotube diodes exhibit an intrinsic cut-off frequency over 100 GHz and the as-measured bandwidth can exceed 50 GHz at least. Furthermore, The rectification ratio of the carbon nanotube diode by approximately three times by using yttrium oxide for local p-type doping in the diode channel is improved.     

Microwave impedance spectroscopy of dense carbon nanotube bundles

We have performed impedance spectroscopy of dense carbon nanotube (CNT) bundles in the broad frequency range from 10 MHz to 67 GHz. Dense CNT bundles were formed on sharp tips from aqueous suspension by ac dielectrophoresis and incorporated into on-wafer test structures. The frequency response of the bundles can be fit to a model with frequency-independent elements in the entire frequency range up to 67 GHz strongly suggesting that CNT properties do not depend on the frequency throughout the whole frequency range. The measurements at microwave frequencies allowed separate characterization of the bundle/metal electrode contacts and the bundle bulk. Effects of different CNT fabrication and suspension processing routes on bundle characteristics were identified. We have also made a preliminary estimation of the average inductance per current carrying shell in the bundles. For good quality nanotube bundles, the inductance has been found to fall within the range from approximately 3.5 to 40 nH/microm. With decreasing nanotube quality, the implemented estimation procedure yields higher values with a large uncertainty. Systematic measurements of devices with individual nanotubes are required to provide more accurate data.     

仿真研究无接面虚三闸极垂直晶体管射频及模拟应用

展示了一个使用无接面技术制作虚三闸极的垂直晶体管,用TCAD软件仿真研究探讨了其射频与模拟的表现,结果表明,其电性表现出色,如：很高的转导 （gm）、截止频率 （fT） 和转导产生因素 （gm/Id）,这些数据结果为8 nm闸极长度 （Lg） 的无接面虚三闸极垂直晶体管 （JPTGV） 提供了一个对于射频模拟的预测。     

Extremely bendable, high-performance integrated circuits using semiconducting carbon nanotube networks for digital, analog, and radio-frequency applications

Solution-processed thin-films of semiconducting carbon nanotubes as the channel material for flexible electronics simultaneously offers high performance, low cost, and ambient stability, which significantly outruns the organic semiconductor materials. In this work, we report the use of semiconductor-enriched carbon nanotubes for high-performance integrated circuits on mechanically flexible substrates for digital, analog and radio frequency applications. The as-obtained thin-film transistors (TFTs) exhibit highly uniform device performance with on-current and transconductance up to 15 μA/μm and 4 μS/μm. By performing capacitance-voltage measurements, the gate capacitance of the nanotube TFT is precisely extracted and the corresponding peak effective device mobility is evaluated to be around 50 cm(2)V(-1)s(-1). Using such devices, digital logic gates including inverters, NAND, and NOR gates with superior bending stability have been demonstrated. Moreover, radio frequency measurements show that cutoff frequency of 170 MHz can be achieved in devices with a relatively long channel length of 4 μm, which is sufficient for certain wireless communication applications. This proof-of-concept demonstration indicates that our platform can serve as a foundation for scalable, low-cost, high-performance flexible electronics.     

Novel nanotube-on-insulator (NOI) approach toward single-walled carbon nanotube devices

We present a novel nanotube-on-insulator (NOI) approach for producing high-yield nanotube devices based on aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes. First, we managed to grow aligned nanotube arrays with controlled density on crystalline, insulating sapphire substrates, which bear analogy to industry-adopted silicon-on-insulator substrates. On the basis of the nanotube arrays, we demonstrated registration-free fabrication of both top-gated and polymer-electrolyte-gated field-effect transistors with minimized parasitic capacitance. In addition, we have developed a way to transfer these aligned nanotube arrays to flexible substrates successfully. Our approach has great potential for high-density, large-scale integrated systems based on carbon nanotubes for both micro- and flexible electronics.     

Length scaling of carbon nanotube transistors

Carbon nanotube field-effect transistors are strong candidates in replacing or supplementing silicon technology. Although theoretical studies have projected that nanotube transistors will perform well at nanoscale device dimensions, most experimental studies have been carried out on devices that are about ten times larger than current silicon transistors. Here, we show that nanotube transistors maintain their performance as their channel length is scaled from 3 μm to 15 nm, with an absence of so-called short-channel effects. The 15-nm device has the shortest channel length and highest room-temperature conductance (0.7G?) and transconductance (40 μS) of any nanotube transistor reported to date. We also show the first experimental evidence that nanotube device performance depends significantly on contact length, in contrast to some previous reports. Data for both channel and contact length scaling were gathered by constructing multiple devices on a single carbon nanotube. Finally, we demonstrate the performance of a nanotube transistor with channel and contact lengths of 20 nm, an on-current of 10 μA, an on/off current ratio of 1 x 10?, and peak transconductance of 20 μS. These results provide an experimental forecast for carbon nanotube device performance at dimensions suitable for future transistor technology nodes.     

Polypyrrole/titanium oxide nanotube arrays composites as an active material for supercapacitors

The authors present the first reported use of vertically oriented titanium oxide nanotube/polypyrrole (PPy) nanocomposites to increase the specific capacitance of TiO2 based energy storage devices. To increase their electrical storage capacity, titanium oxide nanotubes were coated with PPy and their morphologies were characterized. The incorporation of PPy increased the specific capacitance of the titanium oxide nanotube based supercapacitor system, due to their increased surface area and additional pseudo-capacitance.     

Nanoscale memory cell based on a nanoelectromechanical switched capacitor

The demand for increased information storage densities has pushed silicon technology to its limits and led to a focus on research on novel materials and device structures, such as magnetoresistive random access memory and carbon nanotube field-effect transistors, for ultra-large-scale integrated memory. Electromechanical devices are suitable for memory applications because of their excellent 'ON-OFF' ratios and fast switching characteristics, but they involve larger cells and more complex fabrication processes than silicon-based arrangements. Nanoelectromechanical devices based on carbon nanotubes have been reported previously, but it is still not possible to control the number and spatial location of nanotubes over large areas with the precision needed for the production of integrated circuits. Here we report a novel nanoelectromechanical switched capacitor structure based on vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes in which the mechanical movement of a nanotube relative to a carbon nanotube based capacitor defines 'ON' and 'OFF' states. The carbon nanotubes are grown with controlled dimensions at pre-defined locations on a silicon substrate in a process that could be made compatible with existing silicon technology, and the vertical orientation allows for a significant decrease in cell area over conventional devices. We have written data to the structure and it should be possible to read data with standard dynamic random access memory sensing circuitry. Simulations suggest that the use of high-k dielectrics in the capacitors will increase the capacitance to the levels needed for dynamic random access memory applications.     

Downscaling of self-aligned, all-printed polymer thin-film transistors

Printing is an emerging approach for low-cost, large-area manufacturing of electronic circuits, but it has the disadvantages of poor resolution, large overlap capacitances, and film thickness limitations, resulting in slow circuit speeds and high operating voltages. Here, we demonstrate a self-aligned printing approach that allows downscaling of printed organic thin-film transistors to channel lengths of 100-400 nm. The use of a crosslinkable polymer gate dielectric with 30-50 nm thickness ensures that basic scaling requirements are fulfilled and that operating voltages are below 5 V. The device architecture minimizes contact resistance effects, enabling clean scaling of transistor current with channel length. A self-aligned gate configuration minimizes parasitic overlap capacitance to values as low as 0.2-0.6 pF mm(-1), and allows transition frequencies of fT = 1.6 MHz to be reached. Our self-aligned process provides a way to improve the performance of printed organic transistor circuits by downscaling, while remaining compatible with the requirements of large-area, flexible electronics manufacturing.     

Length dependence of carbon nanotube thermal conductivity and the "problem of long waves"

We present the first calculations of finite length carbon nanotube thermal conductivity that extend from the ballistic to the diffusive regime, throughout a very wide range of lengths and temperatures. The long standing problem of vanishing scattering of the "long wavelength phonf dramatically here, making the thermal conductivity diverge as the nanotube length increases. We show that the divergence disappears if 3-phonon scattering processes are considered to second or higher order. Nevertheless, for defect free nanotubes, the thermal conductivity keeps increasing up to very large lengths (10 gm at 300 K). Defects in the nanotube are also able to remove the long wavelength divergence.     

A nanomechanical mass sensor with yoctogram resolution

Nanomechanical resonators have been used to weigh cells, biomolecules and gas molecules, and to study basic phenomena in surface science, such as phase transitions and diffusion. These experiments all rely on the ability of nanomechanical mass sensors to resolve small masses. Here, we report mass sensing experiments with a resolution of 1.7?yg (1?yg?=?10(-24)?g), which corresponds to the mass of one proton. The resonator is a carbon nanotube of length ～150?nm that vibrates at a frequency of almost 2?GHz. This unprecedented level of sensitivity allows us to detect adsorption events of naphthalene molecules (C(10)H(8)), and to measure the binding energy of a xenon atom on the nanotube surface. These ultrasensitive nanotube resonators could have applications in mass spectrometry, magnetometry and surface science.     

基于高电阻率衬底的Si/SiGe HBT

介绍了一种基于电阻率高达1000Ω·cm的硅衬底的锗硅异质结晶体管的研制.首先根据衬底寄生参数模型分析了衬底对器件高频性能的影响,然后设计了器件的材料与横向结构尺寸,该器件采用掩埋金属自对准技术在3μm工艺线上制备而成,测得其典型直流电流增益为120,BVCEO为9.0V,fT为10.2GHz,fmax为5.3GHz,比同结构尺寸的常规N 衬底Si/SiGe HBT的fT和fmax分别高出3.9GHz和1.5GHz.     

Carbon nanotube-polypyrrole core-shell sponge and its application as highly compressible supercapacitor electrode

A carbon nanotube （CNT） sponge contains a three-dimensional conductive nano- tube network, and can be used as a porous electrode for various energy devices. We present here a rational strategy to fabricate a unique CNT@polypyrrole （PPy） core-shell sponge, and demonstrate its application as a highly compressible supercapacitor electrode with high performance. A PPy layer with optimal thickness was coated uniformly on individual CNTs and inter-CNT contact points by electrochemical deposition and crosslinking of pyrrole monomers, resulting in a core-shell configuration. The PPy coating significantly improves specific capacitance of the CNT sponge to above 300 F/g, and simultaneously reinforces the porous structure to achieve better strength and fully elastic structural recovery after compression. The CNT@PPy sponge can sustain 1,000 compression cycles at a strain of 50% while maintaining a stable capacitance （〉 90% of initial value）. Our CNT@PPy core-shell sponges with a highly porous network structure may serve as compressible, robust electrodes for supercapacitors and many other energy devices.     

High performance n-type carbon nanotube field-effect transistors with chemically doped contacts

Short channel ( approximately 80 nm) n-type single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) field-effect transistors (FETs) with potassium (K) doped source and drain regions and high-kappa gate dielectrics (ALD HfO(2)) are obtained. For nanotubes with diameter approximately 1.6 nm and band gap approximately 0.55 eV, we obtain n-MOSFET-like devices exhibiting high on-currents due to chemically suppressed Schottky barriers at the contacts, subthreshold swing of 70 mV/decade, negligible ambipolar conduction, and high on/off ratios up to 10(6) at a bias voltage of 0.5 V. The results compare favorably with the state-of-the-art silicon n-MOSFETs and demonstrate the potential of SWNTs for future complementary electronics. The effects of doping level on the electrical characteristics of the nanotube devices are discussed.     

Scalable fabrication of self-aligned graphene transistors and circuits on glass

Graphene transistors are of considerable interest for radio frequency (rf) applications. High-frequency graphene transistors with the intrinsic cutoff frequency up to 300 GHz have been demonstrated. However, the graphene transistors reported to date only exhibit a limited extrinsic cutoff frequency up to about 10 GHz, and functional graphene circuits demonstrated so far can merely operate in the tens of megahertz regime, far from the potential the graphene transistors could offer. Here we report a scalable approach to fabricate self-aligned graphene transistors with the extrinsic cutoff frequency exceeding 50 GHz and graphene circuits that can operate in the 1-10 GHz regime. The devices are fabricated on a glass substrate through a self-aligned process by using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) grown graphene and a dielectrophoretic assembled nanowire gate array. The self-aligned process allows the achievement of unprecedented performance in CVD graphene transistors with a highest transconductance of 0.36 mS/μm. The use of an insulating substrate minimizes the parasitic capacitance and has therefore enabled graphene transistors with a record-high extrinsic cutoff frequency (> 50 GHz) achieved to date. The excellent extrinsic cutoff frequency readily allows configuring the graphene transistors into frequency doubling or mixing circuits functioning in the 1-10 GHz regime, a significant advancement over previous reports (～20 MHz). The studies open a pathway to scalable fabrication of high-speed graphene transistors and functional circuits and represent a significant step forward to graphene based radio frequency devices.     

Synthesis and device applications of high-density aligned carbon nanotubes using low-pressure chemical vapor deposition and stacked multiple transfer

For nanotube-based electronics to become a viable alternative to silicon technology, high-density aligned carbon nanotubes are essential. In this paper, we report the combined use of low-pressure chemical vapor deposition and stacked multiple transfer to achieve high-density aligned nanotubes. By using an optimized nanotube synthesis recipe, we have achieved high-density aligned carbon nanotubes with density as high as 30 tubes/μm. In addition, a facile stacked multiple transfer technique has been developed to further increase the nanotube density to 55 tubes/μm. Furthermore, high-performance submicron carbon nanotube field-effect transistors have been fabricated on the high-density aligned nanotubes. Before removing the metallic nanotubes by electrical breakdown, the devices exhibit on-current density of 92.4 μA/μm and normalized transconductance of 13.3 μS/μm. Moreover, benchmarking with the aligned carbon nanotube transistors in the literature indicates that our devices exhibit the best performance so far, which is attributed to both the increased nanotube density and scaling down of channel length. This study shows the great potential of using such high-density aligned nanotubes for high performance nanoelectronics and analog/RF applications.     

High-kappa dielectrics for advanced carbon-nanotube transistors and logic gates

The integration of materials having a high dielectric constant (high-kappa) into carbon-nanotube transistors promises to push the performance limit for molecular electronics. Here, high-kappa (approximately 25) zirconium oxide thin-films (approximately 8 nm) are formed on top of individual single-walled carbon nanotubes by atomic-layer deposition and used as gate dielectrics for nanotube field-effect transistors. The p-type transistors exhibit subthreshold swings of S approximately 70 mV per decade, approaching the room-temperature theoretical limit for field-effect transistors. Key transistor performance parameters, transconductance and carrier mobility reach 6,000 S x m(-1) (12 microS per tube) and 3,000 cm2 x V(-1) x s(-1) respectively. N-type field-effect transistors obtained by annealing the devices in hydrogen exhibit S approximately 90 mV per decade. High voltage gains of up to 60 are obtained for complementary nanotube-based inverters. The atomic-layer deposition process affords gate insulators with high capacitance while being chemically benign to nanotubes, a key to the integration of advanced dielectrics into molecular electronics.