A hybrid self-aligned MIS-MESFET architecture for improved diamond-based transistors

Diamond is a promising electronic semiconductor candidate that has recently attracted intense interest in the implementation of its superior physical properties in electronic devices. In particular, attention has been focused on the surface transfer doping of diamond, in which the hydrogen-terminated diamond (diamond:H) benefices of a unique conductive two-dimensional hole gas (2DHG) layer at the diamond's sub-surface upon coverage with a suitable surface acceptor. Several diamond:H transistors have been developed. However, their inherent architecture dependence on the diamond:H conductive surface sensitivity to harsh processing environments has been a major barrier to the realization of high-performance devices. Here, we report on a diamond:H transistor structure that incorporates a mutual diamond:H active channel into the hybrid model of a metal-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MESFET) and a self-aligned metal-insulator-semiconductor FET (MISFET) with a common gate connection. The resulting diamond:H hybrid transistor exhibits a beneficial symbiosis that includes the advantages of both the MISFET (a high ON current of 0.8 μA/μm and a low OFF current of ∼10⁻⁹μA/μm) and MESFET (almost an ideal subthreshold swing of 67 mV/dec) performance operations in the same multilayered device.