Intrinsic Cut-off Frequency in Scaled Graphene Transistors

Abstract: Using 2-D self-consistent ballistic quantum transport simulations, we investigate the short-channel behavior of graphene field-effect transistors and its impact on the device transconductance and subsequently the intrinsic cut-off frequency (fT). Although with thin oxides, fT expectedly scales inversely with the gate length, significant band-to-band tunneling at OFF state leads to a departure from this trend in case of thick oxides. We also examine the effect of achieving better electrostatics at the cost of increased gate capacitance and illustrate that this can indeed degrade the fT. These considerations should be implicit in the optimization of graphene transistors for high-frequency applications.