Reconfigurable Complementary and Combinational Logic Based on Monolithic and Single‐Crystalline Al‐Si Heterostructures

Abstract

Abstract Metal‐semiconductor heterostructures providing geometrically reproducible and abrupt Schottky nanojunctions are highly anticipated for the realization of emerging electronic technologies. This specifically holds for reconfigurable field‐effect transistors, capable of dynamically altering the operation mode between n‐ or p‐type even during run‐time. Targeting the enhancement of fabrication reproducibility and electrical balancing between operation modes, here a nanoscale Al‐Si‐Al nanowire heterostructure with single elementary, monocrystalline Al leads and sharp Schottky junctions is implemented. Utilizing a three top‐gate architecture, reconfiguration on transistor level is enabled. Having devised symmetric on‐currents as well as threshold voltages for n‐ and p‐type operation as a necessary requirement to exploit complementary reconfigurable circuits, selected implementations of logic gates such as inverters and combinational wired‐AND gates are reported. In this respect, exploiting the advantages of the proposed multi‐gate transistor architecture and offering additional logical inputs, the device functionality can be expanded by transforming a single transistor into a logic gate. Importantly, the demonstrated Al‐Si material system and thereof shown logic gates show high compatibility with state‐of‐the‐art complementary metal‐oxide semiconductor technology. Additionally, exploiting reconfiguration at the device level, this platform may pave the way for future adaptive computing systems with low‐power consumption and reduced footprint, enabling novel circuit paradigms.

Keywords

• aluminum
• logic gates
• metal‐semiconductor heterostructures
• reconfigurable electronics
• Schottky barrier field‐effect transistors
• silicon