Carbon nanotube (CNT) electronics
A 3D Atomistic Quantum Simulator for Realistic Carbon Nanotube (CNT) Structures
Objective:
• Investigate the electrostatic effect of the 3D environment on 1D channels
• Investigate atomistic quantum transport in CNT devices
Approach:
• A 3D simulation domain based on the FEM for treatment of the electrostatics
Details involved:
• Merge the cylindrical CNT geometry to the rectangular device environment
• Atomistic description of the CNT
• Finite extent of the contacts (3D objects) to account for parasitic fringing fields
• Quantum transport based on NEGF
Impact:
• Insight on the electrostatics of the 1D channel transport devices
• Quantum mechanical investigation of the effects of atomistic defects in 1D transport
Results:
• Electrostatics of 1D channels: Sensitive to the oxide thickness, Not sensitive to the size of the contacts (except very near the contact point)
• Single atomistic defects can degrade the performance by 30%
• Exponential increase in channel resistance as the number of defects increases (in small diameter CNTs)
For a related research project, please see: CNTFET Lab on nanoHUB.