Simulation of diode characteristics of carbon nanotube field-effect transistors with symmetric source and drain contacts

The diode characteristics of carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (CNTFETs) with symmetric source and drain contacts have been experimentally found at zero gate voltage (Li J. et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 92 (2008) 133111). We calculate this characteristic using a semiclassical method based on Schottky barrier transistor mechanism. The influences of metal work function, the diameter of the carbon nanotubes and the dielectric thickness on the rectification behavior have been studied. The calculation results show that the metal with a higher work function results in a better diode characteristics for a p-type CNTFET. For single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with different band gaps, both forward current and reverse current increase with decreasing band gap, but the ratio of forward current to reverse current decreases with decreasing band gap. This result is well consistent with the experimental observations reported previously. The simulation of the dielectric thickness effect indicates that the thinner the dielectric layer, the better the rectification behavior. The CNTFETs without a bottom gate could not show the diode characteristics, which is consistent with the reported experimental observation. © 2011 Europhysics Letters Association.