Atomistic simulation of Graphene Nanoribbon Field-Effect Transistors

A very interesting paper presenting a 3-D atomistic simulation study of Graphene Nanoribbon Field-Effect Transistors (GNR-FETs) has been published in IEEE Electron Device Letters. The performance observed is comparable to the one of carbon nanotube FETs, but the leakage problems associated to the band-to-band tunneling current are also similar. The authors of this paper are B. Fiori and G. Iannacone, from the University of Pisa, Italy.

The simulations have been based on a self-consistent solution of the 3-D Poisson's and Schrödinger equations with open boundary conditions within the nonequilibrium Green's function formalism. This simulation study can be very helpful to start the development of a compact GNR-FET model, which will be necessary if this novel device becomes successful.