Performance Evaluation of Monolayer ZrS3 Transistors for Next-Generation Computing

Low-dimensional semiconductors, particularly 2-D semiconductors, with anisotropic electronic properties have the potential for realizing ultrascaled field-effect transistors (FETs). Here, we explore ZrS3, a highly anisotropic transition-metal trichalcogenide, for electronic device applications using density functional theory and transport simulations based on the nonequilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) framework. Monolayer ZrS3 enables the design of FETs with channel orientated along the direction having relatively low carrier effective mass while maintaining a moderate density of the state effective mass. These properties are desired for achieving high ON-state performance while maintaining excellent switching characteristics. The FETs are scalable down to 5-nm channel length, and both (n- and p-type) FETs show ${I}_{ \mathrm{\scriptscriptstyle ON}} > 2\times {10} ^{{3}}~\mu \text{A}/\mu \text{m}$ for high-performance logic device applications. To enhance the gate length scalability, we perform the underlap analysis and show that the FETs can be scaled down to 2.9-nm gate length with ${I}_{ \mathrm{\scriptscriptstyle ON}} > 1.1\times {10} ^{{3}}~\mu \text{A}/\mu \text{m}$ . In addition, by comparing the performance of the ZrS3-based FETs with the other 2-D materials, we find that they are promising candidates for future high-performance logic devices.