Impact of inelastic phonon scattering in the OFF state of Tunnel-field-effect transistors

We study the impact of electron–phonon interaction on the subthreshold operation region of Tunnel-FETs by means of full-quantum simulations. Our approach is based on the nonequilibrium Green’s function method, where acoustic and optical phonon scatterings are taken into account through the self-consistent Born approximation. Two device architectures are analyzed: InAs nanowire longitudinal Tunnel-FETs, and 2D vertical Tunnel-FETs based on either an GaSb/AlSb/InAs heterostructure or a MoS2/WTe2 van der Waals heterojunction. In InAs nanowire Tunnel-FETs with interface traps, electron–phonon interaction deteriorates the subthreshold swing by allowing trap-assisted tunneling at energies higher than the valence-band edge in the source. In vertical heterojunction Tunnel-FETs, optical phonon scattering increases the OFF current by inducing inelastic transition in the overlap region even in the absence of traps