Model and Performance Evaluation of Field-Effect Transistors Based on Epitaxial Graphene on SiC

In view of the appreciable semiconducting gap of 0.26 eV observed in recent experiments, epitaxial graphene on a SiC substrate seems a promising channel material for FETs. Indeed, it is 2-D-and therefore does not require prohibitive lithography-and exhibits a wider gap than other alternative options, such as bilayer graphene. Here, we propose a model and assess the achievable performance of a nanoscale FET based on epitaxial graphene on SiC, conducting an exploration of the design parameter space. We show that the current can be modulated by four orders of magnitude; for digital applications, an I(on)/I(off) ratio of 50 and a subthreshold slope of 145 mV/dec can be obtained with a supply voltage of 0.25 V. This represents a significant progress toward solid-state integration of graphene electronics, but not yet sufficient for digital applications.