Performance assessment of partially unzipped carbon nanotube field-effect transistors

By performing atomistic quantum transport simulation, we have investigated device characteristics of partially unzipped carbon nanotube field-effect transistors and compared with those of homojunction counterparts. Our simulation results show that carbon heterostructure can be advantageous in tunnel transistors for ultralow power and high performance applications, whereas it may not be suited for MOSFETs due to the junction resistance at the CNT-GNR interface. ON current and transconductance of Schottky barrier transistors can be improved by 50% if ordinary metal contacts are replaced with low density-of-states metallic carbon nanotubes.