Frequency Doubler Based on Ferroelectric Tunnel Field-Effect Transistor
Hyunwoo Kim, Been Kwak, Jang Hyun Kim, Daewoong Kwon
Abstract
In this study, a frequency doubler that consists of a ferroelectric tunnel field-effect transistor (FeTFET) is proposed, and its operation is verified using technology computer-aided design (TCAD) simulations. The proposed FeTFET has bidirectional tunneling currents, and the threshold voltage ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{TH}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) of each current can be adjusted by local polarization in the ferroelectric layer. Therefore, the source-to-channel ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}_{SC}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) and channel-to-drain currents ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}_{CD}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) can be independently modulated by the specific program condition, and the symmetrical matching of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}_{SC}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}_{CD}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> can be implemented by source- <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$/$ </tex-math></inline-formula> drain-side <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{TH}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> adjustment. Through the mixed-mode circuit simulations, it is confirmed that the output frequency is doubled compared with that of the input sinusoidal signal by symmetrical matching of the bidirectional currents. Consequently, the proposed device is expected to be advantageous for circuit design and low operating power applications compared with conventional frequency doublers.