Monte Carlo Simulation and Mathematical Analysis of Threshold Voltage of Single Electron Transistor

摘要

The exponential pace of transistor evolution has led to a revolution in information acquisition, processing and communication technologies. And reigning over most digital applications is a single device structure--the field-effect transistor (FET). But as device dimensions approach the nanometer scale, quantum effects become increasingly important for device operation, and conceptually new transistor structures may need to be adopted. A notable example of such a structure is the single-electron transistor, or SET. Although it is unlikely that SETs will replace FETs in conventional electronics, they would prove useful in ultra-low-noise analog applications. Moreover, because it is not affected by the same technological limitations as the FETs, the SET can approach closely the quantum limit of sensitivity. It might also be a useful read-out device for a solid-state quantum computer. In this paper, the I-V characteristics of an SET have been simulated and a variation of the threshold voltage of the device has been experimentally observed with the gate voltage. Also, an empirical relation of threshold voltage with electrochemical potential of the island has been proposed in this paper.