Assessment of the Biosensing Capabilities of SiGe Heterojunction Negative Capacitance-Vertical Tunnel Field-Effect Transistor

In this study, a comparison of the negative capacitance vertical tunnel field-effect transistor (NC-VTFET) and VTFET for biosensing applications was conducted. Dielectrically modulated TFET demonstrates better sensitivity than the traditional metal oxide field effect transistor as a biosensor in label-free biosensing applications. The TFET biosensor, however, has much room for advancement by enhancing its DC characteristics. This research addresses the impact of ferroelectric gate oxide for integration of negative capacitance (NC) effect with the SiGe heterojunction pocket at the source-channel junction to enhance performance for biosensor applications. By putting the NC layer over SiO2, the channel voltage increases with decreased subthreshold slope and OFF current, thereby creating an NC effect. Because SiGe has a narrow band gap, pocket doping of SiGe near the source channel junction will increase the concentration of charge carriers, improving the band-to-band tunneling. In order to aid in the integration of biomolecules and to modulate band-to-band tunneling based on charge density (qf), dielectric constant (k), temperature, and cavity length, a cavity is additionally inserted above the source channel junction and underneath the NC layer, near to SiO2. These values were compared with and without the incorporation of NC layer with respect to various electrical properties such as drain current (Id), sensitivity, and electric field (E). According to the findings, labeled and label-free biosensors' sensitivity may be increased by incorporating the NC effect into VTFET biosensors.

Negative-to-Positive Differential Resistance Transition in Ferroelectric FET: Physical Insight and Utilization in Analog Circuits

In this article, for the first time, we explained a detailed physical insight for negative differential resistance (NDR) to positive differential resistance (PDR) transition in a ferroelectric (FE)-based negative capacitance (NC) FET and also its dependence on the device terminal voltages. Using extensive well-calibrated TCAD simulations, we have investigated this phenomenon on fully depleted silicon on insulator (FDSOI)-NCFET. The NDR-to-PDR transition occurs due to FE layer capacitance changes from a negative to positive state during channel pinchoff. This, in turn, results in a valley point in the output characteristic ( I_DS - V_DS ) at which the output resistance is infinite. We also found that we could alter the valley point location by modulating the vertical electric field through the FE layer in the channel pinchoff region using body bias ( V_BB ). The interface oxide charges also impacted the NDR to PDR transition, and a positive interface charge results in faster NDR to PDR transition. Furthermore, we have utilized the modulation in the NDR-to-PDR transition due to V_BB for designing a current mirror. Results show that the output current ( I_OUT ) variation due to V_DS reduces from ~8% to ~2% with V_BB . We have also designed a single-stage common source (CS) amplifier and provided design guidelines to achieve a higher gain in the NDR region. The results obtained using a small-signal model of the FDSOI-NCFET demonstrate that ~25% higher gain can be achieved with the discussed design guidelines in the NDR region compared to the transition region of I_DS - V_DS . We have also explored the device scaling effect on the amplifier gain and found that ~ 2.23× gain can be increased with smaller channel length and higher device width.

BOX engineering to mitigate negative differential resistance in MFIS negative capacitance FDSOI FET: an analog perspective

Till date, the existing understanding of negative differential resistance (NDR) is obtained from metal-ferro-metal-insulator-semiconductor (MFMIS) FET, and it has been utilized for both MFMIS and metal-ferro-insulator-semiconductor (MFIS) based NCFETs. However, in MFIS architecture, the ferroelectric capacitance (C_FE) is not a lumped capacitance. Therefore, for MFIS negative capacitance (NC) devices, the physical explanation which governs the NDR mechanism needs to be addressed. In this work, for the first time, we present the first principle explanation of the NDR effect in MFIS NC FDSOI. We found that the output current variation with the drain to source voltage (V_DS), (i.e.g_ds) primarily depends upon two parameters: (a)V_DSdependent inversion charge gradient (∂n/∂V_DS); (b)V_DSsensitive electron velocity (∂v/∂V_DS), and the combined effect of these two dependencies results in NDR. Further, to mitigate the NDR effect, we proposed the BOX engineered NC FDSOI FET, in which the buried oxide (BOX) layer is subdivided into the ferroelectric (FE) layer and the SiO₂layer. In doing so, the inversion charge in the channel is enhanced by the BOX engineered FE layer, which in turn mitigates the NDR and a nearly zerog_dswith a minimal positive slope has been obtained. Through well-calibrated TCAD simulations, by utilizing the obtained positiveg_ds, we also designed aV_DSindependent constant current mirror which is an essential part of analog circuits. Furthermore, we discussed the impact of the FE parameter (remanent polarization and coercive field) variation on the device performances. We have also compared the acquired results with existing literature on NC-based devices, which justifies that our proposed structure exhibits complete diminution of NDR, thus enabling its use in analog circuit design.

A Novel Negative Capacitance FinFET With Ferroelectric Spacer: Proposal and Investigation

In this letter, for the first time, we investigate the role of Ferroelectric (FE) spacer in a negative capacitance (NC) FinFET. Using well-calibrated TCAD models, we found that instead of placing a dielectric (DE) spacer, if we use an FE spacer, enhanced electric field due to FE polarization can be achieved, thereby producing a higher ON-current. The fringing fields polarize the FE spacer and result in voltage amplification, which lowers the effective barrier and increases the current driving capability. ON-current of the proposed configuration, i.e., FE spacer at the source (S) side and DE spacer at the drain (D) side, is ~30% higher than the baseline FinFET. In this work, we have also proposed four different spacer placement configurations to realize better performances in terms of higher ON-current, mitigation of negative differential resistance (NDR) and better subthreshold slope (SS), and so on. We found that the optimized performance can be attained by placing an FE and DE spacer at the S and D end, respectively. We also evaluated a design space window for a good capacitance match to achieve NC effect for optimized device design.

Cholinergic activation of medial preoptic area by amygdala for ovulation in rat

Ovulation blocked by amygdalar lesion was restored by carbachol injection into medial preoptic area (mPOA) in rats on the afternoon of proestrus. Both spontaneous and carbachol-induced ovulation was blocked by application of nicotinic and muscarinic cholinergic antagonists (mecamylamine and atropine) to mPOA. The effect was more pronounced in the latter case. The study suggests amygdalar facilitatory control of ovulation to be mediated via mPOA through the involvement of cholinergic mechanisms.

Mechanism of participation of medial preoptic area in the hippocampal inhibition of ovulation

Bilateral hippocampal (HPC) stimulation with anodal direct current on the afternoon of proestrus blocked spontaneous ovulation in 87.5% of the Wistar rats subjected to the experiments. The incidence of the ovulation block by this procedure was reduced to 16.7% on bilateral injection of 0.25 microgram picrotoxin into the medial preoptic area (mPOA) preceding as well as following the stimulation. Ovulation was also blocked in 53.8% of the animals by bilateral injection of 50.0 microgram GABA into mPOA, while only 20.0% animals showed a blockade of ovulation by saline injection into mPOA. These observations indicate that blockade of ovulation by HPC stimulation can be simulated by local injection of GABA into mPOA while the effect of stimulation can be blocked by local injection of picrotoxin. Thus, indicating the possibility of GABA being neurotransmitter involved at the level of mPOA for mediating the inhibitory hippocampal influence on ovulation.