Negative capacitance transistors with monolayer black phosphorus

Two-dimensional materials can improve the performance of a novel class of low-power transistors, predict scientists. Yan Zhou at Nanjing University and co-workers in China and Canada aimed to clarify the properties of negative capacitance field-effect transistors (NC-FETs), which have recently been proposed as a method for increasing voltage amplification while using much less power than conventional devices. In NC-FETs, a voltage applied to two metallic layers electrically polarizes an intermediate layer. Using a ferroelectric as a spacer leads to an effect called negative capacitance, which provides voltage amplification in a way that is fundamentally different from traditional transistors. Zhou’s team simulated the performance of a NC-FET that, by introducing a single atomic layer of black phosphorus, further improves the amplification effect. The proposed system is expected to be useful in the design of low-power circuits.