A multi-subband Monte Carlo study on dominance of scattering mechanisms over carrier transport in sub-10-nm Si nanowire FETs

Abstract

Dominance of various scattering mechanisms in determination of the carrier mobility is examined for silicon (Si) nanowires of sub-10-nm cross-sections. With a focus on p-type channels, the steady-state hole mobility is studied with multi-subband Monte Carlo simulations to consider quantum effects in nanoscale channels. Electronic structures of gate-all-around nanowires are described with a 6-band k.p model. Channel bandstructures and electrostatics under gate biases are determined self-consistently with Schroedinger-Poisson simulations. Modeling results not only indicate that the hole mobility is severely degraded as channels have smaller cross-sections and are inverted more strongly but also confirm that the surface roughness scattering degrades the mobility more severely than the phonon scattering does. The surface roughness scattering affects carrier transport more strongly in narrower channels, showing ~90%dominance in determination of the mobility. At the same channel population, [110] channels suffer from the surface roughness scattering more severely than [100] channels do, due to the stronger corner effect and larger population of carriers residing near channel surfaces. With a sound theoretical framework coupled to the spatial distribution of channel carriers, this work may present a useful guideline for understanding hole transport in ultra-narrow Si nanowires.