Experimental study on silicon nanowire nMOSFET and single-electron transistor at room temperature under uniaxial tensile strain

Uniaxial tensile strain effects on [110] directed silicon nanowire nMOSFETs (NWFETs) and single-electron transistors (SETs) were experimentally studied for the first time. It is found that strain effect is still effective in extremely narrow NWFETs and that transverse tensile strain offers more favorable effects than longitudinal one in terms of I_on/I_off ratio. Current enhancement in SET is also observed at drift region, although complicated strain effect at oscillation region, attributed to modulation of potential structure and rearrangement of tunneling condition, is observed. Fig. 1 summarizes main points of uniaxial tensile strain effects on NWFET and SET.