Nanowerk March 9, 2021
The demands placed by CMOS logic circuits at their ultimate scaling limits could be satisfied by a number of layered 2D materials. Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is widely considered to be the most promising gate insulator for meeting challenging requirements for gate insulators. An international team of researchers (Austria, Russia, Switzerland, Japan, Saudi Arabia) assess the material parameters and performance limits of hBN. They compared experimental and theoretical tunnel currents through ultrathin layers of hBN and other 2D gate insulators, including the ideal case of defect-free hBN. Though its properties make hBN a candidate for many applications in 2D nanoelectronics, excessive leakage currents led them to conclude that hBN is unlikely to be suitable for use as a gate insulator in ultrascaled CMOS devices…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Electrons escaping through three layers of hBN. Credit: TU Vienna