Ultrasensitive 3D Stacked Silicon Nanosheet Field-Effect Transistor Biosensor with Overcoming Debye Shielding Effect for Detection of DNA.

Silicon nanowire field effect (SiNW-FET) biosensors have been successfully used in the detection of nucleic acids, proteins and other molecules owing to their advantages of ultra-high sensitivity, high specificity, and label-free and immediate response. However, the presence of the Debye shielding effect in semiconductor devices severely reduces their detection sensitivity. In this paper, a three-dimensional stacked silicon nanosheet FET (3D-SiNS-FET) biosensor was studied for the high-sensitivity detection of nucleic acids. Based on the mainstream Gate-All-Around (GAA) fenestration process, a three-dimensional stacked structure with an 8 nm cavity spacing was designed and prepared, allowing modification of probe molecules within the stacked cavities. Furthermore, the advantage of the three-dimensional space can realize the upper and lower complementary detection, which can overcome the Debye shielding effect and realize high-sensitivity Point of Care Testing (POCT) at high ionic strength. The experimental results show that the minimum detection limit for 12-base DNA (4 nM) at 1 × PBS is less than 10 zM, and at a high concentration of 1 µM DNA, the sensitivity of the 3D-SiNS-FET is approximately 10 times higher than that of the planar devices. This indicates that our device provides distinct advantages for detection, showing promise for future biosensor applications in clinical settings.

Ultrasensitive Silicon Nanowire Biosensor with Modulated Threshold Voltages and Ultra-Small Diameter for Early Kidney Failure Biomarker Cystatin C.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequently occurring severe disease with high mortality. Cystatin C (Cys-C), as a biomarker of early kidney failure, can be used to detect and prevent acute renal injury. In this paper, a biosensor based on a silicon nanowire field-effect transistor (SiNW FET) was studied for the quantitative detection of Cys-C. Based on the spacer image transfer (SIT) processes and channel doping optimization for higher sensitivity, a wafer-scale, highly controllable SiNW FET was designed and fabricated with a 13.5 nm SiNW. In order to improve the specificity, Cys-C antibodies were modified on the oxide layer of the SiNW surface by oxygen plasma treatment and silanization. Furthermore, a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannel was involved in improving the effectiveness and stability of detection. The experimental results show that the SiNW FET sensors realize the lower limit of detection (LOD) of 0.25 ag/mL and have a good linear correlation in the range of Cys-C concentration from 1 ag/mL to 10 pg/mL, exhibiting its great potential in the future real-time application.

Improved Subthreshold Characteristics by Back-Gate Coupling on Ferroelectric ETSOI FETs.

In this work, extremely thin silicon-on-insulator field effective transistors (ETSOI FETs) are fabricated with an ultra-thin 3 nm ferroelectric (FE) hafnium zirconium oxides (Hf0.5Zr0.5O2) layer. Furthermore, the subthreshold characteristics of the devices with double gate modulation are investigated extensively. Contributing to the advantages of the back-gate voltage coupling effects, the minimum subthreshold swing (SS) value of a 40 nm ETSOI device could be adjusted from the initial 80.8-50 mV/dec, which shows ultra-steep SS characteristics. To illustrate this electrical character, a simple analytical model based on the transient Miller model is demonstrated. This work shows the feasibility of FE ETSOI FET for ultra-low-power applications with dynamic threshold adjustment.

Quasi-Volatile MoS2 Barristor Memory for 1T Compact Neuron by Correlative Charges Trapping and Schottky Barrier Modulation.

Artificial neurons as the basic units of spiking neural network (SNN) have attracted increasing interest in energy-efficient neuromorphic computing. 2D transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD)-based devices have great potential for high-performance and low-power artificial neural devices, owing to their unique ion motion, interface engineering, and resistive switching behaviors. Although there are widespread applications of TMD-based artificial synapses in neural networks, TMD-based neurons are seldom reported due to the lack of bio-plausible multi-mechanisms to mimic leaking, integrating, and firing biological behaviors without external assistance. In this work, for the first time, a methodology is developed by introducing the hybrid effect of charge trapping (CT) and Schottky barrier (SB) in MoS2 FETs for barristor memory and one-transistor (1T) compact artificial neuron realization. By correlating the CT and SB processes, quasi-volatile and resistive switching behaviors are realized on the fabricated MoS2 FET and utilized to mimic the accumulating, leaking, and firing biological behaviors of neurons. Therefore, based on a single quasi-volatile CT-SB MoS2 barristor memory, a 1T compact neuron of the basic leaky-integral-and-fire (LIF) function is demonstrated without a peripheral circuit. Furthermore, a spiking neural network (SNN) based on the CT-SB MoS2 barristor neurons is simulated and implemented in pattern classification with high accuracy approaching 95.82%. This work provides a highly integrated and inherently low-energy implementation for neural networks.

Evolution of the Interfacial Layer and Its Impact on Electric-Field-Cycling Behaviors in Ferroelectric Hf1-xZrxO2.

Doped HfO2 thin films, which exhibit robust ferroelectricity even with aggressive thickness scaling, could potentially enable ultralow-power logic and memory devices. The ferroelectric properties of such materials are strongly intertwined with the voltage-cycling-induced electrical and structural changes, leading to wake-up and fatigue effects. Such field-cycling-dependent behaviors are crucial to evaluate the reliability of HfO2-based functional devices; however, its genuine nature remains elusive. Herein, we demonstrate the coupling mechanism between the dynamic change of the interfacial layer and wake-up/fatigue phenomena in ferroelectric Hf1-xZrxO2 (HZO) thin films. Comprehensive atomic-resolution microscopy studies have revealed that the interfacial layer between the HZO and neighboring nonoxide electrode experienced a thickness/composition evolution during electrical cycling. Two theoretical models associated with the depolarization field are adopted, giving consistent results with the thickening of the interfacial layer during electrical cycling. Furthermore, we found that the electrical properties of the HZO devices can be manipulated by controlling the interface properties, e.g., through the choice of electrode match and hybrid cycling process. Our results unambiguously reveal the relationship between the interfacial layer and field-cycling behaviors in HZO, which would further permit the reliability improvement in HZO-based ferroelectric devices through interface engineering.

A Polarization-Switching, Charge-Trapping, Modulated Arithmetic Logic Unit for In-Memory Computing Based on Ferroelectric Fin Field-Effect Transistors.

Nonvolatile logic devices are crucial for the development of logic-in-memory (LiM) technology to build the next-generation non-von Neumann computing architecture. Ferroelectric field-effect transistors (Fe FET) are one of the most promising candidates for LiMs because of high compatibility with mainstream silicon-based complementary metal-oxide semiconductor processes, nonvolatile memory, and low power consumption. However, because of the unipolar characteristics of a Fe FET, a nonlinear XOR or XNOR logic gate function is difficult to realize with a single device. In addition, because single Fe polarization switch modulation is available in the devices, a reconfigurable logic gate usually needs multiple devices to construct and realize fewer logic functions. Here, we introduced polarization-switching (PS) and charge-trapping (CT) effects in a single Fe FET and fabricated a multi-field-effect transistor with bipolar-like characteristics based on advanced 10 nm node fin field-effect transistors (PS-CT FinFET) with 9 nm thick Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 films. The special hybrid effects of charge-trapping and polarization-switching enabled eight Boolean logic functions with a single PS-CT FinFET and 16 Boolean logic functions with two complementary PS-CT FinFETs were obtained with three operations. Furthermore, reconfigurable full 1 bit adder and subtractor functions were demonstrated by connecting only two n-type and two p-type PS-CT FinFET devices, indicating that the technology was promising for LiM applications.

Optimization of Structure and Electrical Characteristics for Four-Layer Vertically-Stacked Horizontal Gate-All-Around Si Nanosheets Devices.

In this paper, the optimizations of vertically-stacked horizontal gate-all-around (GAA) Si nanosheet (NS) transistors on bulk Si substrate are systemically investigated. The release process of NS channels was firstly optimized to achieve uniform device structures. An over 100:1 selective wet-etch ratio of GeSi to Si layer was achieved for GeSi/Si stacks samples with different GeSi thickness (5 nm, 10 nm, and 20 nm) or annealing temperatures (≤900 °C). Furthermore, the influence of ground-plane (GP) doping in Si sub-fin region to improve electrical characteristics of devices was carefully investigated by experiment and simulations. The subthreshold characteristics of n-type devices were greatly improved with the increase of GP doping doses. However, the p-type devices initially were improved and then deteriorated with the increase of GP doping doses, and they demonstrated the best electrical characteristics with the GP doping concentrations of about 1 × 1018 cm-3, which was also confirmed by technical computer aided design (TCAD) simulation results. Finally, 4 stacked GAA Si NS channels with 6 nm in thickness and 30 nm in width were firstly fabricated on bulk substrate, and the performance of the stacked GAA Si NS devices achieved a larger ION/IOFF ratio (3.15 × 105) and smaller values of Subthreshold swings (SSs) (71.2 (N)/78.7 (P) mV/dec) and drain-induced barrier lowering (DIBLs) (9 (N)/22 (P) mV/V) by the optimization of suppression of parasitic channels and device's structure.

Cryogenic Transport Characteristics of P-Type Gate-All-Around Silicon Nanowire MOSFETs.

A 16-nm-Lg p-type Gate-all-around (GAA) silicon nanowire (Si NW) metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) was fabricated based on the mainstream bulk fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) technology. The temperature dependence of electrical characteristics for normal MOSFET as well as the quantum transport at cryogenic has been investigated systematically. We demonstrate a good gate-control ability and body effect immunity at cryogenic for the GAA Si NW MOSFETs and observe the transport of two-fold degenerate hole sub-bands in the nanowire (110) channel direction sub-band structure experimentally. In addition, the pronounced ballistic transport characteristics were demonstrated in the GAA Si NW MOSFET. Due to the existence of spacers for the typical MOSFET, the quantum interference was also successfully achieved at lower bias.

Fabrication of Low Cost and Low Temperature Poly-Silicon Nanowire Sensor Arrays for Monolithic Three-Dimensional Integrated Circuits Applications.

In this paper, the poly-Si nanowire (NW) field-effect transistor (FET) sensor arrays were fabricated by adopting low-temperature annealing (600 °C/30 s) and feasible spacer image transfer (SIT) processes for future monolithic three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D-ICs) applications. Compared with other fabrication methods of poly-Si NW sensors, the SIT process exhibits the characteristics of highly uniform poly-Si NW arrays with well-controlled morphology (about 25 nm in width and 35 nm in length). Conventional metal silicide and implantation techniques were introduced to reduce the parasitic resistance of source and drain (SD) and improve the conductivity. Therefore, the obtained sensors exhibit >106 switching ratios and 965 mV/dec subthreshold swing (SS), which exhibits similar results compared with that of SOI Si NW sensors. However, the poly-Si NW FET sensors show the Vth shift as high as about 178 ± 1 mV/pH, which is five times larger than that of the SOI Si NW sensors. The fabricated poly-Si NW sensors with 600 °C/30 s processing temperature and good device performance provide feasibility for future monolithic three-dimensional integrated circuit (3D-IC) applications.

A Gd-doped HfO2 single film for a charge trapping memory device with a large memory window under a low voltage.

In this study, a performance-enhanced charge trapping memory device with a Pt/Gd-doped HfO2/SiO2/Si structure has been investigated, where Gd-doped HfO2 acts as a charge trapping and blocking layer. The device demonstrates a large memory window of 5.4 V under a ±5 V sweeping voltage (360% of the device with pure HfO2), which is extremely attractive in low-power applications. In addition, the device also exhibits good retention characteristics with a 24.5% charge loss after the retention time of 1 × 105 seconds and robust endurance performance with a 1% degradation after 1 × 104 program/erase cycles. It is considered that the high density of defect states and the reduction in the defect energy levels induced by Gd-doping contribute to the performance improvement.

Three-Dimensional Graphene Field-Effect Transistors as High-Performance Photodetectors.

Graphene is an ideal material for high-performance photodetectors because of its superior electronic and optical properties. However, graphene's weak optical absorption limits the photoresponsivity of conventional photodetectors based on planar (two-dimensional or 2D) back-gated graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs). Here, we report a self-rolled-up method to turn 2D buried-gate GFETs into three-dimensional (3D) tubular GFETs. Because the optical field inside the tubular resonant microcavity is enhanced and the light-graphene interaction area is increased, the photoresponsivity of the resulting 3D GFETs is significantly improved. The 3D GFET photodetectors demonstrated room-temperature photodetection at ultraviolet, visible, mid-infrared, and terahertz (THz) regions, with both ultraviolet and visible photoresponsivities of more than 1 A W-1 and photoresponsivity of 0.232 A W-1 at 3.11 THz. The electrical bandwidth of these devices exceeds 1 MHz. This combination of high photoresponsivity, a broad spectral range, and high speed will lead to new opportunities for 3D graphene optoelectronic devices and systems.

Near-ideal subthreshold swing MoS2 back-gate transistors with an optimized ultrathin HfO2 dielectric layer.

In this paper, a near-ideal subthreshold swing MoS2 back-gate transistor with an optimized ultrathin HfO2 dielectric layer is reported with detailed physical and electrical characteristics analyses. Ultrathin (10 nm) HfO2 films created by atomic-layer deposition (ALD) at a low temperature with rapid-thermal annealing (RTA) at different temperatures from 200 °C to 800 °C have a great effect on the electrical characteristics, such as the subthreshold swing (SS), on-to-off current (I ON/I OFF) ratio, etc, of the MoS2 devices. Physical examinations are performed, including x-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and electrical experiments of metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitance-voltage. The results demonstrate a strong correlation between the HfO2 dielectric RTA temperature and the film characteristics, such as film density, crystallization degree, grain size and surface states, inducing a variation in the electrical parameters, such as the leakage, D it, equivalent oxide thickness, SS, and I ON, as well as I ON/I OFF of the MoS2 field effect transistors with the same channel materials and fabrication methods. With a balance between the crystallization degree and the surface state, the ultrathin (10 nm) HfO2 gate dielectric RTA at 500 °C is demonstrated to have the best performance with a field effect mobility of 40 cm2 V-1 s-1 and the lowest SS of 77.6 mV-1 decade, which are superior to those of the control samples at other temperatures. The excellent transistor results with an optimized industry-based HfO2 ALD and RTA process provide a promising approach for MoS2 applications into the scaling of the nanoscale CMOS process.