The growing applications for IoT devices have caused an increase in the study of low power consuming circuit design to meet the requirement of devices to operate for various months without external power supply. Scaling down the conventional CMOS causes various complications to design due to CMOS properties, therefore various non-conventional CMOS design techniques are being proposed that overcome the limitations. This thesis focuses on some of those emerging and novel low power design technique namely Adiabatic logic and low power devices like Magnetic Tunnel Junction (MTJ) and Carbon Nanotube Field Effect transistor (CNFET). Circuits that are used for large computations (multipliers, encryption engines) that amount to maximum part of power consumption in a whole chip are designed using these novel low power techniques.

Downscaling of the contact length Lc of a side-contacted carbon nanotube field-effect transistor (CNTFET) is challenging because of the rapidly increasing contact resistance as Lc falls below 20–50 nm. If in agreement with existing experimental results, theoretical work might answer the question, which metals yield the lowest CNT–metal contact resistance and what physical mechanisms govern the geometry dependence of the contact resistance. However, at the scale of 10 nm, parameter-free models of electron transport become computationally prohibitively expensive. In our work we used a dedicated combination of the Green function formalism and density functional theory to perform an overall ab initio simulation of extended CNT–metal contacts of an arbitrary length (including infinite), a previously not achievable level of simulations. We provide a systematic and comprehensive discussion of metal–CNT contact properties as a function of the metal type and the contact length. We have found and been able to explain very uncommon relations between chemical, physical and electrical properties observed in CNT–metal contacts. The calculated electrical characteristics are in reasonable quantitative agreement and exhibit similar trends as the latest experimental data in terms of: (i) contact resistance for Lc = ∞, (ii) scaling of contact resistance Rc(Lc); (iii) metal-defined polarity of a CNTFET. Our results can guide technology development and contact material selection for downscaling the length of side-contacts below 10 nm.

This thesis aims at investigating size dependence of properties of nanostructures from the point of view of a general scaling theory that smoothly connects properties of the bulk to that of nanostructures. Two different examples of a ``static'' and a ``dynamic'' property are considered in this study. The first example studied is of size dependence of coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) which a static property of nanostructures. The CTE of nanobars and nanoslabs is studied using equilibrium molecular dynamics and dynamical matrix formulation in an electrically insulating medium. It is found that the fractional change in CTE from the bulk value scales inversely with the size of the nanostructures, thus, showing a simple description in terms of a scaling theory. In the second part, electron transport in carbon nanotube field effect transistors (CNTFETs) is studied using Landauer formalism. A CNTFET involves transport through a 1-d ballistic carbon nanotube channel with Schottky barriers (SB) at contacts which determines the transport characteristics. The CNT is modeled as a 1-d semiconductor having only two bands separated by an energy gap which depends inversely on tube diameter. After the contact is made, a self-consistent potential appears due to charge transfer between CNT and metal, which is calculated by solving Poisson equation. The electron transmission across the barriers is calculated using WKB approximation. Current and conductance are calculated using Landauer-Buttiker formula. Diameter dependence of properties like, conductance, threshold voltage, VON, etc. is calculated. It is found that there is no simple scaling for a property for small values of diameter. The scaling form is, however, found to be valid for larger diameters. Also, other calculated device characteristics are in close agreement with experiments. The model presented in this thesis is the first detailed study illustrating the applicability of the scaling approach to the properties of nanostructures. The static properties show scaling behavior, while ``dynamic'' properties derived from electronic response do not.

In this dissertation, we use finite element method together with other numerical techniques to study advanced electron devices. We study the radiation properties in electron waveguide structure with multi-step discontinuities and soft wall lateral confinement. Radiation mechanism and conditions are examined by numerical simulation of dispersion relations and transport properties. The study of geometry variations shows its significant impact on the radiation intensity and direction. In particular, the periodic corrugation structure exhibits strong directional radiation. This interesting feature may be useful to design a nano-scale transmitter, a communication device for future nano-scale system. Non-quasi-static effects in AC characteristics of carbon nanotube field-effect transistors are examined by solving a full time-dependent, open-boundary Schrödinger equation. The non-quasi-static characteristics, such as the finite channel charging time, and the dependence of small signal transconductance and gate capacitance on the frequency, are explored. The validity of the widely used quasi-static approximation is examined. The results show that the quasi-static approximation overestimates the transconductance and gate capacitance at high frequencies, but gives a more accurate value for the intrinsic cut-off frequency over a wide range of bias conditions. The influence of metal interconnect resistance on the performance of vertical and lateral power MOSFETs is studied. Vertical MOSFETs in a D2PAK and DirectFET package, and lateral MOSFETs in power IC and flip chip are investigated as the case studies. The impact of various layout patterns and material properties on RDS(on) will provide useful guidelines for practical vertical and lateral power MOSFETs design.

Downscaling of the contact length Lc of a side-contacted carbon nanotube field-effect transistor (CNTFET) is challenging because of the rapidly increasing contact resistance as Lc falls below 20–50 nm. If in agreement with existing experimental results, theoretical work might answer the question, which metals yield the lowest CNT–metal contact resistance and what physical mechanisms govern the geometry dependence of the contact resistance. However, at the scale of 10 nm, parameter-free models of electron transport become computationally prohibitively expensive. In our work we used a dedicated combination of the Green function formalism and density functional theory to perform an overall ab initio simulation of extended CNT–metal contacts of an arbitrary length (including infinite), a previously not achievable level of simulations. We provide a systematic and comprehensive discussion of metal–CNT contact properties as a function of the metal type and the contact length. We have found and been able to explain very uncommon relations between chemical, physical and electrical properties observed in CNT–metal contacts. The calculated electrical characteristics are in reasonable quantitative agreement and exhibit similar trends as the latest experimental data in terms of: (i) contact resistance for Lc = ∞, (ii) scaling of contact resistance Rc(Lc); (iii) metal-defined polarity of a CNTFET. Our results can guide technology development and contact material selection for downscaling the length of side-contacts below 10 nm.

The carbon nanotube-based field effect transistor (CNTFET) possesses the potential to overcome limitations of state-of-the-art technologies such as silicon-based complementary metal-oxide-semiconductors. However, the carbon nanotube (CNT) technology is still at its infancy and technology development is still necessary to exploit the CNT properties such as high charge carrier mobility, high current carrying capability, one-dimensional charge transport and their versatile integrability. Within this work significant progress has been achieved scientifically and technologically in the advance of high frequency (HF) CNTFETs for analog applications. According to simulations by others, a technology flow has been developed based on electron beam lithography for bottom gated HF CNTFETs which outperform state-of the art top gate architectures with respect to their parasitic capacitances. Moreover, the impact of electrostatic doping on the CNTFETs has been investigated. In particular, the dynamics of water desorption from the CNTFETs and the related reduction of p-type doping was investigated and the different impact of the n-type dopant polyethylenimine onto the channel region and contact region could be separated for the first time. Furthermore, the impact of doped CNT bundles on the device performance has been studied. It could be shown in detail for the first time, that high off-state source-drain leakage currents can be due to bundled semiconducting CNTs and does not necessarily imply the presence of metallic CNTs. The within the framework of this thesis designed and realized HF CNTFETs are operating in the GHz range with cut-off frequencies up to 14 GHz and maximum frequencies of oscillation up to 6 GHz at a channel length of 280 nm. Moreover, the impact of the spacer between the source-/ drain- to the gate electrode on the HF properties of the CNTFETs has been investigated experimentally for the first time. Simulations by others have successfully confirmed that a symmetrical reduction of the source to gate electrode spacer results in an increased device speed. By asymmetrically reducing the source to gate electrode spacer and in parallel increasing the drain-to-gate electrode spacer the device speed can be further enhanced. Moreover, within this work it has been experimentally indicated for the first time that the device properties of HF CNTFETs can be tuned by different device geometries towards either highest linearity or speed.

Ever since their discovery in 1991, carbon nanotubes are of great interest to the scientific community due to their outstanding optical, mechanical and electrical properties. Considering their impressive properties, as for instance the high current carrying capability and the possibility of ballistic charge transport, carbon nanotubes are a desired channel material in field-effect transistors, especially with respect to high frequency communication electronics. Thus, many scientific studies on CNT-based field-effect transistors have been published so far. But despite the successful verification of excellent individual electric key values, corresponding experiments are mostly performed under synthetic conditions (considering e.g. temperature or gas atmosphere), which are not realizable during realistic application scenarios. Furthermore, technologically relevant factors like homogeneity, reproducibility and yield of functioning devices are often subordinated to the achievement of a single electric record value. Hence, this work focuses on the development of a fabrication technology for carbon nanotube field-effect transistors, that takes those factors into account. Thereby, this work expands the state of the art by introduction and statistical assessment of two cleaning processes: a) wet chemical removal of surfactant residues (sodium dodecylsulfate) from CNTs, integrated using the dielectrophoretic approach, by investigation and comparison of four procedures (de-ionized water, HNO3, oDCB, Ethanol); b) the reduction of process-related substrate contaminations by application of an oxygen plasma. Beyond that, the passivation of the final, working devices is developed further, as their typical definition as diffusion barrier is expanded by the reduction of parasitic capacitances in the transistor. In this context, two so far barely considered materials, hydrogen silsesquioxane and Xdi-dcs, a polymer mixture of poly(vinylphenol) and polymethylsilsesquioxane, are investigated and assessed. The novelty of the Xdi-dcs mixture causes the necessity of fundamental considerations on controllable etching procedures and resulting adaptions of the technological fabrication sequence.:Bibliographic description 3 List of abbreviations 10 List of symbols 10 1 Introduction 13 2 Basics of carbon nanotubes 15 2.1 Structural fundamentals 15 2.1.1 Hybridization of carbon 15 2.1.2 Structure of carbon nanotubes 17 2.2 Electronic properties 19 2.2.1 Band structure of graphene 19 2.2.2 Band structure of carbon nanotubes 20 2.2.3 Electronic transport in CNTs 22 2.3 Procedures for CNT integration 23 2.3.1 Growth by chemical vapor deposition 24 2.3.2 Transfer techniques 24 2.3.3 Dispersion-related integration procedures 25 2.4 Interaction of CNT and surfactant 28 3 Basics of CNT field-effect transistors 31 3.1 Principle of operation of conventional FETs 31 3.2 Distinctive features of CNT-based FETs 32 3.2.1 Metal - semiconductor contact 33 3.2.2 Linearity 38 3.3 Performance determining factors 41 3.3.1 Device architecture 41 3.3.2 Contact geometry 46 3.3.3 Other transistor dimensions 48 3.3.4 CNT-related characteristics 49 3.4 Hysteresis in transfer characteristics 51 3.4.1 Definition of hysteresis 51 3.4.2 Origins of hysteresis 52 3.4.3 Appearance of hysteresis 53 3.5 Passivation 56 3.5.1 Requirements 56 3.5.2 Importance of pre-treatments and process conditions 57 3.5.3 Overview of established passivation materials 58 4 Experimental work 63 4.1 Transistor design 63 4.2 Technology flow 66 4.3 Experimental procedures 71 4.3.1 Procedures for dissolution of SDS 71 4.3.2 Plasma treatment against surface contaminations 72 4.3.3 Evaluation of diffusion barriers 72 4.4 Instrumentation and characterization 74 4.4.1 Dielectrophoresis instrumentation 74 4.4.2 Topographical Characterization 74 4.4.3 Chemical characterization 75 4.4.4 Electrical characterization 76 5 Reduction of hysteresis 77 5.1 Removal of surfactant molecules from CNTs 77 5.1.1 Influence on molecule and CNT chemistry 78 5.1.2 Effect on transistor performance 80 5.2 Plasma-assisted removal of substrate contaminations 87 5.2.1 Influence on substrate surface 88 5.2.2 Effect on transistor performance 92 6 Passivation 97 6.1 Protection against environmental effects 97 6.1.1 Alterability of unpassivated CNT-FETs 98 6.1.2 Effects of O2 exclusion by dense passivation 99 6.1.3 Intentional doping using Y2O3 101 6.2 Passivation considering electrostatic aspects 106 6.2.1 Integration of Xdi-dcs as novel passivation 107 6.2.2 Comparison of two spin-coated dielectrics 111 6.3 Potential of double-layer approaches 113 6.3.1 Evaluation of the gas barrier performance 113 6.3.2 Influence on the transistor behavior 116 7 Summary and Outlook 121 Danksagung 127 Appendix 129 Bibliography 137 List of figures 156 List of tables 161 Selbstständigkeitserklärung 163 8 Thesen 165 9 Curriculum vitae 169 / Bereits seit ihrer Entdeckung 1991 sind Kohlenstoffnanoröhren, aufgrund ihrer herausragenden optischen, mechanischen und elektrischen Eigenschaften, für die wissenschaftliche Community von großem Interesse. Ihre Verwendung als Kanalmaterial in Feld-Effekt Transistoren ist in Anbetracht ihrer außergewöhnlichen Eigenschaften, wie z. B. die hohe Stromtragfähigkeit, sowie die Möglichkeit des ballistischen Transports von Ladungsträgern besonders für die hochfrequente Kommunikationselektronik erstrebenswert. Dementsprechend viele wissenschaftliche Arbeiten befassen sich mit der Erforschung von auf Kohlenstoffnanoröhren basierenden Transistoren. Doch trotz des erfolgreichen Nachweises ausgezeichneter Werte für viele individuelle elektrische Kenngrößen, finden entsprechenden Experimente zumeist unter anwendungsfernen Bedingungen bezüglich Temperatur bzw. Gasatmosphäre statt. Darüber hinaus werden dem Erreichen eines elektrischen Rekordwertes oft technologisch relevante Größen wie Homogenität, Reproduzierbarkeit und Ausbeute an funktionsfähigen Bauteilen untergeordnet. Der Fokus dieser Arbeit liegt daher auf der Erarbeitung einer Technologie zur Herstellung Kohlenstoffnanoröhrenbasierter Feld-Effekt Transistoren, unter Berücksichtigung dieser Aspekte. Dabei erweitert diese Arbeit den Stand der Technik durch die Einführung und statistische Beurteilung zweier Reinigungsprozesse: a) der nasschemischen Beseitigung von Tensidresten (Natriumdodecylsulfat) an mittels Dielektrophorese integrierten CNTs, wobei insgesamt vier Prozeduren (de-ionisiertes Wasser, HNO3, oDCB, Ethanol) betrachtet und miteinander verglichen wurden; b) der Beseitigung von prozessbedingten Substratkontaminationen durch ein Sauerstoffplasma. Darüber hinaus wird die Passivierung der funktionsfähigen Bauelemente weiterentwickelt, indem ihre typische Definition als Diffusionsbarriere um den Aspekt der Verringerung parasitärer Kapazitäten im Transistor erweitert wird. In diesem Zusammenhang werden mit Wasserstoff-Silsesquioxane und Xdi-dcs, einem Polymergemisch aus Poly(vinylphenol) und Polymethylsilsesquioxane, zwei bislang wenig beachtete Materialien, untersucht und bewertet. Die Neuheit des Xdi-dcs Gemisches macht dabei fundamentale Untersuchungen zur Strukturierbarkeit und entsprechende technologische Anpassungen im Gesamtablauf nötig.:Bibliographic description 3 List of abbreviations 10 List of symbols 10 1 Introduction 13 2 Basics of carbon nanotubes 15 2.1 Structural fundamentals 15 2.1.1 Hybridization of carbon 15 2.1.2 Structure of carbon nanotubes 17 2.2 Electronic properties 19 2.2.1 Band structure of graphene 19 2.2.2 Band structure of carbon nanotubes 20 2.2.3 Electronic transport in CNTs 22 2.3 Procedures for CNT integration 23 2.3.1 Growth by chemical vapor deposition 24 2.3.2 Transfer techniques 24 2.3.3 Dispersion-related integration procedures 25 2.4 Interaction of CNT and surfactant 28 3 Basics of CNT field-effect transistors 31 3.1 Principle of operation of conventional FETs 31 3.2 Distinctive features of CNT-based FETs 32 3.2.1 Metal - semiconductor contact 33 3.2.2 Linearity 38 3.3 Performance determining factors 41 3.3.1 Device architecture 41 3.3.2 Contact geometry 46 3.3.3 Other transistor dimensions 48 3.3.4 CNT-related characteristics 49 3.4 Hysteresis in transfer characteristics 51 3.4.1 Definition of hysteresis 51 3.4.2 Origins of hysteresis 52 3.4.3 Appearance of hysteresis 53 3.5 Passivation 56 3.5.1 Requirements 56 3.5.2 Importance of pre-treatments and process conditions 57 3.5.3 Overview of established passivation materials 58 4 Experimental work 63 4.1 Transistor design 63 4.2 Technology flow 66 4.3 Experimental procedures 71 4.3.1 Procedures for dissolution of SDS 71 4.3.2 Plasma treatment against surface contaminations 72 4.3.3 Evaluation of diffusion barriers 72 4.4 Instrumentation and characterization 74 4.4.1 Dielectrophoresis instrumentation 74 4.4.2 Topographical Characterization 74 4.4.3 Chemical characterization 75 4.4.4 Electrical characterization 76 5 Reduction of hysteresis 77 5.1 Removal of surfactant molecules from CNTs 77 5.1.1 Influence on molecule and CNT chemistry 78 5.1.2 Effect on transistor performance 80 5.2 Plasma-assisted removal of substrate contaminations 87 5.2.1 Influence on substrate surface 88 5.2.2 Effect on transistor performance 92 6 Passivation 97 6.1 Protection against environmental effects 97 6.1.1 Alterability of unpassivated CNT-FETs 98 6.1.2 Effects of O2 exclusion by dense passivation 99 6.1.3 Intentional doping using Y2O3 101 6.2 Passivation considering electrostatic aspects 106 6.2.1 Integration of Xdi-dcs as novel passivation 107 6.2.2 Comparison of two spin-coated dielectrics 111 6.3 Potential of double-layer approaches 113 6.3.1 Evaluation of the gas barrier performance 113 6.3.2 Influence on the transistor behavior 116 7 Summary and Outlook 121 Danksagung 127 Appendix 129 Bibliography 137 List of figures 156 List of tables 161 Selbstständigkeitserklärung 163 8 Thesen 165 9 Curriculum vitae 169