Operation of a novel nanoscale unipolar rectifying diode

Recently, a nanoscale unipolar rectifying diode, so called self-switching diode (SSD), based on electrostatic effects, was presented in Ref. (1). This device provides a rectifying behavior without the use of any doping junction or barrier structure (like in p-n or Schottky barrier diodes) and can be fabricated with a simple single-step lithographic process. The downscaling of the SSDs is therefore so simple that, together with the intrinsically high electron velocity of InGaAs channels, the fabrication of devices working in the THz range can be envisaged. In this work we will exploit the microscopic description of transport given by a semiclassical 2D Monte Carlo (MC) simulation to provide an in depth explanation of the self-switching operation of the SSD. Moreover, the high frequency performance of the SSDs will be optimized by means of an optimally designed downscaling process.