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NATURENANOTECHNOLOGY | REVIEW

Graphenetransistors
FrankSchwierz
NatureNanotechnology 5, 487496 (2010) doi:10.1038/nnano.2010.89
Publishedonline 30May2010

Abstract
Graphenehaschangedfrombeingtheexclusivedomainofcondensedmatterphysiciststobeingexploredbythoseinthe
electrondevicecommunity.Inparticular,graphenebasedtransistorshavedevelopedrapidlyandarenowconsideredanoption
forpostsiliconelectronics.However,manydetailsaboutthepotentialperformanceofgraphenetransistorsinrealapplications
remainunclear.HereIreviewthepropertiesofgraphenethatarerelevanttoelectrondevices,discussthetradeoffsamongthese
propertiesandexaminetheireffectsontheperformanceofgraphenetransistorsinbothlogicandradiofrequencyapplications.I
concludethattheexcellentmobilityofgraphenemaynot,asisoftenassumed,beitsmostcompellingfeaturefromadevice
perspective.Rather,itmaybethepossibilityofmakingdeviceswithchannelsthatareextremelythinthatwillallowgraphenefield
effecttransistorstobescaledtoshorterchannellengthsandhigherspeedswithoutencounteringtheadverseshortchannel
effectsthatrestricttheperformanceofexistingdevices.Outstandingchallengesforgraphenetransistorsincludeopeninga
sizeableandwelldefinedbandgapingraphene,makinglargeareagraphenetransistorsthatoperateinthecurrentsaturation
regimeandfabricatinggraphenenanoribbonswithwelldefinedwidthsandcleanedges.

Introduction
Everynowandagain,asinglepaperignitesarevolutioninscienceandtechnology.SucharevolutionwasstartedinOctober
2004,whencondensedmatterphysicistsreportedthattheyhadpreparedgraphenetwodimensionalsheetsofcarbonatoms
andobservedtheelectricfieldeffectintheirsamples1.Itwasnotlongbeforethisnewmaterialattractedtheattentionofthe
electrondevicecommunity,andtodayagrowingnumberofgroupsaresuccessfullyfabricatinggraphenetransistors.Majorchip
makersarenowactiveingrapheneresearchandtheInternationalTechnologyRoadmapforSemiconductors,thestrategic
planningdocumentforthesemiconductorindustry,considersgraphenetobeamongthecandidatematerialsforpostsilicon
electronics2.
Severalexcellentreviewsonthebasicscienceofgraphenehavebeenpublishedinrecentyears3,4,5.Giventhegrowinginterest
ingrapheneintheelectrondevicecommunity,andongoingdiscussionsofthepotentialofgraphenetransistors,areviewarticle
focusingongraphenedevicesistimely.Here,fromthepointofviewofadeviceengineer,Idiscussthepotentialofgrapheneasa
newmaterialforelectrondevices,andsummarizethestateoftheartforgraphenetransistors.Iwillfocusmostlyonthefieldeffect
transistor(FET),becausethisisthemostsuccessfuldeviceconceptinelectronicsandbecausemostworkongraphenedevices
sofarhasbeenrelatedtoFETs.
Twoprincipaldivisionsofsemiconductorelectronicsaredigitallogicdevicesandradiofrequencydevices.Thedegreeofreadiness
tointroducenewdeviceconceptsisgenerallyhigherforradiofrequencyapplications,inpartbecausethefortunesofdigitallogic
dependalmostentirelyontheperformanceofasingletypeofdevice:thesiliconmetaloxidesemiconductorFET(MOSFET).For
decades,makingMOSFETssmallerhasbeenkeytotheprogressindigitallogic.Thissizescalinghasenabledthecomplexityof
integratedcircuitstodoubleevery18months,leadingtosignificantimprovementsinperformanceanddecreasesinpriceper
transistor6,7.Today,processorscontainingtwobillionMOSFETs,manywithgatelengthsofjust30nm,areinmassproduction
(Fig.1).
Figure1:Trendsindigitalelectronics.

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EvolutionofMOSFETgatelengthinproductionstageintegratedcircuits(filledredcircles)andInternationalTechnologyRoadmapfor
Semiconductors(ITRS)targets(openredcircles).Asgatelengthshavedecreased,thenumberoftransistorsperprocessorchiphas
increased(bluestars).Maintainingthesetrendsisasignificantchallengeforthesemiconductorindustry,whichiswhynewmaterialssuch
asgraphenearebeinginvestigated.

Becausethefabricationofintegratedcircuitsishighlycomplex,semiconductorfabricationplantsareextremelyexpensive(at
presentcostingseveralbillionUSdollars).Furthermore,becausescalingalonehasprovidedtheneededperformance
improvementsfromonegenerationofintegratedcircuitstothenext,therehasbeenlittlemotivationforthechipmakersto
introducedevicesbasedonafundamentallydifferentphysicsoronamaterialotherthansilicon.However,thereisaconsensusin
thecommunitythatMOSFETscalingisapproachingitslimitsandthat,inthelongrun,itwillbenecessarytointroducenew
materialanddeviceconceptstoensurethatperformancecontinuestoimprove.
Thesituationisdifferentforradiofrequencyelectronics.Thisfieldwasdominatedbydefenceapplicationsuntilthelate1980s,and
althoughitmovedintothemainstreaminthe1990sowingtoadvancesinwirelesscommunications,themilitarycontinuedto
providegenerousfinancialsupportforresearchintonewradiofrequencydevices.This,togetherwiththefactthatradiofrequency
circuitsaremuchlesscomplexthandigitallogicchips,hasledtomakersofradiofrequencychipsbeingmoreopentonewdevice
concepts.Anindicationofthisisthelargevarietyofdifferenttransistortypesandmaterialsusedinradiofrequencyelectronics:
theseincludehighelectronmobilitytransistors(HEMTs)basedonIIIVsemiconductorssuchasGaAsandInP,siliconnchannel
MOSFETs,anddifferenttypesofbipolartransistor8,9.
AsIdiscussbelow,grapheneispotentiallywellsuitedtoradiofrequencyapplicationsbecauseofitspromisingcarriertransport
propertiesanditspurelytwodimensionalstructure.This,combinedwiththerelativeopennessoftheradiofrequencyelectronics
industrytonewmaterials,suggeststhatgraphenemightmakeitsfirstappearanceinradiofrequencyapplicationsratherthanin
logiccircuits.

FETphysics:whatreallymatters
AFETconsistsofagate,achannelregionconnectingsourceanddrainelectrodes,andabarrierseparatingthegatefromthe
channel(Fig.2a).TheoperationofaconventionalFETreliesonthecontrolofthechannelconductivity,andthusthedrain
current,byavoltage,V GS,appliedbetweenthegateandsource.
Figure2:ConventionalFETs.

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a,CrosssectionofannchannelSiMOSFET.Whenthevoltageappliedbetweenthesourceandgateelectrodesexceedsathreshold
voltage,V Th,aconductingchannelisformedandadraincurrent,I D,flows.Thelengthofthechannelisdefinedbythelengthofthegate
electrodethethicknessofthegatecontrolledchannelregionisthedepthtowhichtheelectronicpropertiesofthesemiconductor(pdoped
Siinthiscase)areinfluencedbythegate.b,FETtransfercharacteristicsshowingI D(onalogarithmicscaleontheleftandalinearscale
ontheright)versusthegatesourcevoltage,V GS .ThetransistorisconsideredtobeswitchedonwhenV GS isequaltothemaximum
voltagesuppliedtothedevice,V DD.Thehighertheslopeinthesubthresholdregion(V GS <V Th),thebetterthetransistorswitchon
characteristicsbecome.Abovethreshold,thechangeinI DforagivenchangeinV GS iscalledtheterminaltransconductance,g mt.

Forhighspeedapplications,FETsshouldrespondquicklytovariationsinV GSthisrequiresshortgatesandfastcarriersinthe
channel.Unfortunately,FETswithshortgatesfrequentlysufferfromdegradedelectrostaticsandotherproblems(collectively
knownasshortchanneleffects),suchasthresholdvoltagerolloff,draininducedbarrierlowering,andimpaireddraincurrent
saturation7,10.ScalingtheorypredictsthataFETwithathinbarrierandathingatecontrolledregion(measuredinthevertical
directioninFig.2a)willberobustagainstshortchanneleffectsdowntoveryshortgatelengths(measuredinthehorizontal
directioninFig.2a)11.Thepossibilityofhavingchannelsthatarejustoneatomiclayerthickisperhapsthemostattractivefeature
ofgrapheneforuseintransistors.(Mobility,whichisoftenconsideredtobegraphene'smostusefulpropertyforapplicationsin
nanoelectronics,isdiscussedlater.)Bycomparison,thechannelsinIIIVHEMTsaretypically1015nmthick,andalthough
silicononinsulatorMOSFETswithchannel(thatis,siliconbody)thicknessesoflessthan2nmhavebeenreported12,rough
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interfacescausedtheirmobilitytodeteriorate.Moreimportantly,thebodyoftheseMOSFETsshowedthicknessfluctuationsthat
willleadtounacceptablylargethresholdvoltagevariations(andsimilarproblemsareexpectedtooccurwhenthethicknessofthe
channelinaIIIVHEMTisreducedtoonlyafewnanometres).Theseproblemsoccuratthicknessesthataremanytimesgreater
thanthethicknessofgraphene.
Theseriesresistancesbetweenthechannelandthesourceanddrainterminalsarealsoimportant,andtheiradverseimpacton
theFETbecomesmorepronouncedasthegatelengthdecreases13.Thus,deviceengineersdevoteconsiderableeffortto
developingtransistordesignsinwhichshortchanneleffectsaresuppressedandseriesresistancesareminimized.
Moderndigitallogicisbasedonsiliconcomplementarymetaloxidesemiconductor(CMOS)technology.CMOSlogicgatesconsist
ofbothnandpchannelMOSFETsthatcanswitchbetweentheonstate(withalargeoncurrent,I on,andV GS=V DD,where
V DDisthemaximumvoltagesuppliedtothedevice)andtheoffstate(withasmalloffcurrent,I off,andV GS=0).Inthe
terminologyofdigitallogic,agateisnotthegateterminalofatransistorbutacombinationoftwoormoretransistorsthatcan
performacertainlogicoperation.ThevalueofV GSatwhichtheFETisjustonthevergeofswitchingonisthethresholdvoltage,
V Th.Figure2bshowsthetransfercharacteristicsofannchannelFETindicatingtheonstateandtheoffstate.Usefulmeasures
withwhichtoassesstheswitchingbehaviourarethesubthresholdswing,S(relevanttothesubthresholdregion),andtheterminal
transconductance,g mt(relevanttotheabovethresholdregion).
Inthesteadystate,acertainnumberoftheMOSFETsinaCMOSlogicgatearealwaysswitchedoffsothatnocurrentexcept
thesmallI offflowsthroughthegate14.TheabilityofsiliconMOSFETstoswitchoffenablessiliconCMOStoofferextremelylow
staticpowerdissipation(whichisthereasonwhysiliconCMOShasbestedallcompetinglogictechnologies).Thus,anysuccessor
tothesiliconMOSFETthatistobeusedinCMOSlikelogicmusthaveexcellentswitchingcapabilities,aswellasanonoffratio,
I on/I off,ofbetween104and107(ref.2).InaconventionalFET,thisrequiressemiconductingchannelswithasizeablebandgap,
preferably0.4eVormore.Moreover,nandpchannelFETswithsymmetricalthresholdvoltages,thatis,withV Th,n=V Th,p,
areneededforproperCMOSoperation.
Inradiofrequencyapplications,however,switchoffisnotrequiredperse.Insmallsignalamplifiers,forexample,thetransistoris
operatedintheonstateandsmallradiofrequencysignalsthataretobeamplifiedaresuperimposedontothed.c.gatesource
voltage.TodiscusstheradiofrequencyperformanceofFETs,IusetheequivalentcircuitfromFig.3aandfocusonthecutoff
frequency,f T ,whichisthefrequencyatwhichthemagnitudeofthesmallsignalcurrentgainrollsofftounity.Thecutoff
frequencyisthemostwidelyusedfigureofmeritforradiofrequencydevicesandis,ineffect,thehighestfrequencyatwhichaFET
isusefulinradiofrequencyapplications.
Figure3:FETd.c.andsmallsignaloperation.

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a,SmallsignalequivalentFETcircuit.Theintrinsictransconductance,g m,isrelatedtotheinternalsmallsignalgatesourceanddrain
sourcevoltages,v GSi andv DSi ,whereastheterminaltransconductance,g mt,isrelatedtotheappliedgatesourceanddrainsource
voltages,V GS andV DS (Table1andFig.2b).b,Thedraincurrent,I D(bluelines),atdifferentvaluesofV GS ,andthecutofffrequency,f T
(redline),bothversusV DS foraradiofrequencyGaAshighelectronmobilitytransistor15,16.ThecutofffrequencypeaksatV DS =1Vand
V GS =0.15V.c,Theintrinsictransconductance(blueline),theoverallgatecapacitance,C G=C GS +C GD(redline),andthedrain
conductance,g ds(1/r dsblackline),versusV DS forthesameFET.

Ascanbeseenfromtheexpressionforf T giveninTable1(Refs7,8),thecutofffrequencycanbemaximizedbymakingthe
intrinsictransconductance,g m,aslargeaspossibleandmakingthedrainconductance,g ds,andallthecapacitancesand
resistancesintheequivalentcircuit(Fig.3)assmallaspossible7,8.However,thevaluesofallthesequantitiesvarywiththe
appliedd.c.gatesourcevoltage,V GS,andtheappliedd.c.drainsourcevoltage,V DS.AsshownexemplarilyforatypicalGaAs
HEMT15,16(Fig.3b,c),V DShasapronouncedeffectontheFETperformance.Forthistransistor,f T peaksaroundV DS=1V,
thatis,deepintheregionofdraincurrentsaturation,whereg misnearitspeakandg dshasdecreasedsufficiently.Forlower
valuesofV DS,thedeviceoperatesinthelinearregimeandthecutofffrequencyislowbecauseg missmallandg dsislarge.
Table1:Performancemeasuresforthefieldeffecttransistor.
Thebottomlineforradiofrequencyperformanceisthatalthoughshortergates,fastercarriersandlowerseriesresistancesalllead
tohighercutofffrequencies,saturationofthedraincurrentisessentialtoreachthemaximumpossibleoperatingspeeds.This
pointisfrequentlymissedindiscussionsoftransistorspeeds.Draincurrentsaturationisalsonecessarytomaximizetheintrinsic
gain,G int=g m/g ds,whichhasbecomeapopularfigureofmeritformixedsignalcircuits.

Graphenepropertiesrelevanttotransistors
Singlelayergrapheneisapurelytwodimensionalmaterial.Itslatticeconsistsofregularhexagonswithacarbonatomateach
corner.Thebondlengthbetweenadjacentcarbonatoms,L b,is1.42andthelatticeconstant,a,is2.46(Fig.4a).Thefirst
reportsonthismaterialappeareddecadesago,evenbeforethenamegraphenehadbeencoined(see,forexample,Refs17,18,
19),butittookthepioneering2004paperbytheManchestergroup1tosparkthepresentexplosionofinterestinthematerial.
Figure4:Propertiesofgrapheneandgraphenenanoribbons.

a,Schematicofanarmchair(ac)graphenenanoribbon(GNR)oflengthL acandwidthW ac.ThenanoribbonshownherehasN=9carbon

atomsalongitswidthandthusbelongstothe3pfamily,wherepisaninteger.b,BandstructurearoundtheKpointof(i)largearea
graphene,(ii)graphenenanoribbons,(iii)unbiasedbilayergraphene,and(iv)bilayergraphenewithanappliedperpendicularfield.Largearea
grapheneandunbiasedbilayergraphenedonothaveabandgap,whichmakesthemlessusefulfordigitalelectronics.c,Bandgapversus
nanoribbonwidthfromexperiments24,25,26,27andcalculations28,29.Bycomparison,thebandgapofSiisabove1eV.zz:zigzag.

Atpresent,themostpopularapproachestographenepreparationaremechanicalexfoliation1,growthonmetalsandsubsequent
graphenetransfertoinsulatingsubstrates20,21,andthermaldecompositionofSiCtoproducesocalledepitaxialgrapheneontop
ofSiCwafers22,23.Exfoliationisstillpopularforlaboratoryusebutitisnotsuitedtotheelectronicsindustry,whereastheother
twooptionsbothhavethepotentialforproducingwaferscalegraphene.Afterthegraphenehasbeenprepared,common
semiconductorprocessingtechniques(suchaslithography,metallizationandetching)canbeappliedtofabricategraphene
transistors.
Inthissection,Idiscusstwoimportantaspectsofgraphene:thepresence(orotherwise)ofabandgap,andchargetransport
(mobilityandhighfieldtransport)atroomtemperature.
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Bandgap.Largeareagrapheneisasemimetalwithzerobandgap.Itsvalenceandconductionbandsareconeshapedandmeet
attheKpointsoftheBrillouinzone(Fig.4b).Becausethebandgapiszero,deviceswithchannelsmadeoflargeareagraphene
cannotbeswitchedoffandthereforearenotsuitableforlogicapplications.However,thebandstructureofgraphenecanbe
modified,anditispossibletoopenabandgapinthreeways:byconstraininglargeareagrapheneinonedimensiontoform
graphenenanoribbons,bybiasingbilayergrapheneandbyapplyingstraintographene.SeeTable2andRefs24,25,26,27,28,
29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43formoredetails.
Table2:Doesgraphenehaveabandgap?
Ithasbeenpredicted28thatbotharmchairnanoribbonsandzigzagnanoribbons(thetwoidealtypesofnanoribbonFig.4a)have
abandgapthatis,toagoodapproximation,inverselyproportionaltothewidthofthenanoribbon.Theopeningofabandgapin
nanoribbonshasbeenverifiedexperimentallyforwidthsdowntoabout1nm(Refs24,25,26,27),andtheoryandexperiments
bothrevealbandgapsinexcessof200meVforwidthsbelow20nm(Fig.4c).However,itshouldbenotedthatrealnanoribbons
haveroughedgesandwidthsthatchangealongtheirlengths.Evenmodestedgedisorderobliteratesanydifferenceinthe
bandgapbetweennanoribbonswithdifferentedgegeometries29,andedgefunctionalizationanddopingcanalsoaffectthe
bandgap44.
Toopenabandgapusefulforconventionalfieldeffectdevices,verynarrownanoribbonswithwelldefinededgesareneeded.This
representsaseriouschallengegiventhesemiconductorprocessingequipmentavailableatthemoment.Recently,nanoribbons
thatwereuniforminwidthandhadreducededgeroughnesswereproducedby'unzipping'carbonnanotubes45.However,evena
perfectnanoribbonisnotperfectforelectronicsapplications.Ingeneral,thelargerthebandgapthatopensinananoribbon,the
morethevalenceandconductionbandsbecomeparabolic(ratherthanconeshaped):thisdecreasesthecurvaturearoundtheK
pointandincreasestheeffectivemassofthechargecarriers46,whichislikelytodecreasethemobility.
Bilayergrapheneisalsogapless(Fig.4b),anditsvalenceandconductionbandshaveaparabolicshapeneartheKpoint.Ifan
electricfieldisappliedperpendiculartothebilayer,abandgapopensandthebandsneartheKpointtakeonthesocalled
Mexicanhatshape.Thisopeningwaspredictedbytheory30,31andhasbeenverifiedinexperiments32,33.Theoretical
investigationshavealsoshownthatthesizeofthebandgapdependsonthestrengthoftheperpendicularfieldandcanreach
valuesof200250meVforhighfields((13)107Vcm1Refs30,31).
Thebandgapoflargeareasinglelayerepitaxialgrapheneisatpresentthesubjectofcontroversy34.Althoughsomeresults
suggestazerobandgap37,38,othersreportabandgapofaround0.25eV(Refs35,36).Thetransfercharacteristicsofepitaxial
grapheneMOSFETsshownoswitchoff,whichsuggestsazerobandgap.However,abandgapisconsistentlyobservedfor
epitaxialbilayergraphene38,39.
Finally,strainhasbeendiscussedasameansofopeningabandgapinlargeareagraphene,andtheeffectofuniaxialstrainon
thebandstructurehasbeensimulated40,41.Atpresentitseemsthatifitispossibleatall,openingagapinthiswaywillrequirea
globaluniaxialstrainexceeding20%,whichwillbedifficulttoachieveinpractice.Moreover,littleisknownaboutthewaysinwhich
othertypesofstrain,suchasbiaxialstrainandlocalstrain,influencethebandstructureofgraphene.
Thus,althoughthereareanumberoftechniquesforopeningabandgapingraphene,theyareallatthemomentsomewayfrom
beingsuitableforuseinrealworldapplications.
Mobility.Themostfrequentlystatedadvantageofgrapheneisitshighcarriermobilityatroomtemperature.Mobilitiesof10,000
15,000cm2V1s1areroutinelymeasuredforexfoliatedgrapheneonSiO2coveredsiliconwafers1,47,andupperlimitsof
between40,000and70,000cm2V1s1havebeensuggested47,48.Moreover,intheabsenceofchargedimpuritiesandripples,
mobilitiesof200,000cm2V1s1havebeenpredicted49,andamobilityof106cm2V1s1wasrecentlyreportedforsuspended
graphene50.Forlargeareagraphenegrownonnickelandtransferredtoasubstrate,mobilitiesgreaterthan3,700cm2V1s1
havebeenmeasured20.
Finally,forepitaxialgrapheneonsiliconcarbide,themobilitydependsonwhetherthegrapheneisgrownonthesiliconfaceorthe
carbonfaceofSiC.Althoughgraphenegrownonthecarbonfacehashighermobility(valuesof~5,000cm2V1s1havebeen
reported23,comparedwith~1,000cm2V1s1forgraphenegrownonthesiliconface23,51),itiseasiertogrowsinglelayerand
bilayergrapheneonthesiliconface,whichmakesthesiliconfaceofSiCmoresuitedforelectronicapplications.

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InearlygrapheneMOSstructures,themobilitywasaffectedbytheuseofatopgatedielectric52,53.However,therecent
demonstrationofmobilitiesofaround23,000cm2V1s1intopgatedgrapheneMOSchannels54andtheobservationofsimilar
mobilitiesbeforeandaftertopgateformation55showthathighmobilitygrapheneMOSchannelscanbemadewithaproper
choiceofthegatedielectricandoptimizationofthedepositionprocess.
Thesemobilitynumbersareimpressive,buttheyrequirecloserinspection.Thehighmobilitiesmentionedaboverelatetolarge
areagraphene,whichisgapless.Ageneraltrendforconventionalsemiconductorsisthattheelectronmobilitydecreasesasthe
bandgapincreases,andasimilartrendhasbeenpredictedforcarbonnanotubes(CNTs)56,57andgraphenenanoribbons58,59,
60,61(Fig.5a).Thismeansthatthemobilityinnanoribbonswithabandgapsimilartothatofsilicon(1.1eV)isexpectedtobe

lowerthaninbulksiliconandnohigherthanthemobilityinthesiliconchannelofaconventionalMOSdevice58.Themobilities
measuredinexperimentslessthan200cm2V1s1fornanoribbons110nmwide26,62and1,500cm2V1s1fora
nanoribbon14nmwide45(whichisthehighestmobilitysofarmeasuredforananoribbon)supportthetheoreticalresults(Fig.
5b).Therefore,althoughthehighmobilitiesofferedbygraphenecanincreasethespeedofdevices,theycomeattheexpenseof
makingitdifficulttoswitchdevicesoff,thusremovingoneofthemainadvantagesoftheCMOSconfigurationitslowstaticpower
consumption.
Figure5:Carriertransportingraphene.

a,Electronmobilityversusbandgapinlowelectricfieldsfordifferentmaterials,asindicated(fromlefttoright,IIIV compoundsareInSb,
InAs,In0.53Ga0.47As,InP,GaAs,In0.49Ga0.51P,andGaN).ThemobilitydatarelatestoundopedmaterialexceptfortheSiMOSdata.Also
shownaremobilitydataforcarbonnanotubes(CNTssimulation56,57),graphenenanoribbons(simulation58,59)andgraphene(experiment

andsimulation47,48,49,50).b,Carriermobilityversusnanoribbonwidthatlowelectricfieldsfromsimulations60,61andexperiments(open62
andfull45stars).Dataforlargeareagraphenearealsoshown1,47,48.c,Electrondriftvelocityversuselectricfieldforcommon
semiconductors(Si,GaAs,In0.53Ga0.47As),acarbonnanotube(simulation57)andlargeareagraphene(simulation63,64).

Highfieldtransport.InthedayswhenFETshadgatesseveralmicrometreslong,themobilitywastheappropriatemeasureof
thespeedofcarriertransport.Strictlyspeaking,however,themobilitydescribescarriertransportinlowelectricfieldstheshort
gatelengthsinmodernFETsresultinhighfieldsinasizeableportionofthechannel,reducingtherelevanceofmobilitytodevice
performance.Toillustratethis,letusconsideraFETwithagate100nmlongandadrainsourcevoltageof1V.Ifweassumea
voltagedropof0.3Vacrosstheseriesresistances,theaveragefieldinthechannelis70kVcm1.Atsuchhighfields,thesteady
statecarriervelocitysaturates,andthissaturationvelocitybecomesanotherimportantmeasureofcarriertransport.Figure5c
showsplotsoftheelectronvelocityversustheelectricfieldforconventionalsemiconductors,andsimulatedplotsforlargearea
graphene63,64andacarbonnanotube57.Forgrapheneandthenanotube,maximumcarriervelocitiesofaround4107cms1
arepredicted,incomparisonwith2107cms1forGaAsand107cms1forsilicon.Moreover,athighfieldsthevelocityin
grapheneandthenanotubedoesnotdropasdrasticallyasintheIIIVsemiconductors.Unfortunately,thereisatpresentno
experimentaldataavailableonhighfieldtransportingraphenenanoribbonsandinlargeareagraphene.However,other
measurements65suggesthighfieldcarriervelocitiesofseveral107cms1ingraphene.Thus,regardinghighfieldtransport,
grapheneandnanotubesseemtohaveaslightadvantageoverconventionalsemiconductors.
Finally,itisworthnotingthatreportedmobilitiesforgraphenedevicesneedtobeinterpretedcarefullybecausethereareseveral
definitionsfortheMOSFETchannelmobilityandtheyaredifficulttocompare66.Furthermore,thetechniquesusedtomeasure
mobilityareonlyvaguelydescribedinsomepapers.Mostfrequently,thefieldeffectmobility, FE,ismeasured(Table1).
However,theeffectofthesourceanddrainseriesresistancesmustbeeliminatedfromthemeasuredcharacteristicstodetermine
thisquantity,anditisnotalwaysclearthatthishasbeendone.
AnadditionalcomplicationliesintheinterpretationofdatafromtopgatedgrapheneMOSFETs,whichinvolvesarrivingatavalue
forthegatecapacitance,C G.FrequentlyC Gisapproximatedbytheoxidecapacitanceperunitarea,asC ox= ox/t ox,where ox
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isthedielectricconstantofthetopgatedielectricandt oxisthethicknessofthisdielectric.However,whent oxissmall,the

quantumcapacitance,C q,mustbetakenintoaccount67,68becauseitisconnectedinserieswithC ox,makingtheoverallgate
capacitanceC G=C oxC q/(C ox+C q).TheoverallgatecapacitancecanbesignificantlysmallerthanC ox,particularlyclosetothe
Diracpoint(thepointofminimumdraincurrent),soneglectingtheeffectofC qwillleadtoanunderestimateofthefieldeffect
mobility.

Stateoftheartofgraphenetransistors
AgrapheneMOSdevicewasamongthebreakthroughresultsreportedbytheManchestergroupin2004(ref.1).A300nmSiO2
layerunderneaththegrapheneservedasabackgatedielectricandadopedsiliconsubstrateactedasthebackgate(Fig.6a).
Suchbackgatedeviceshavebeenveryusefulforproofofconceptpurposes,buttheysufferfromunacceptablylargeparasitic
capacitancesandcannotbeintegratedwithothercomponents.Therefore,practicalgraphenetransistorsneedatopgate.The
firstgrapheneMOSFETwithatopgatewasreportedin2007(ref.52),representinganimportantmilestone,andprogresshas
beenveryrapidsincethen(Fig.6b).Althoughresearchintographeneisstillinitsinfancy,grapheneMOSFETscancompetewith
devicesthathavebenefitedfromdecadesofresearchandinvestment.
Figure6:StructureandevolutionofgrapheneMOSFETs.

a,SchematicsofdifferentgrapheneMOSFETtypes:backgatedMOSFET(left)topgatedMOSFETwithachannelofexfoliatedgraphene
orofgraphenegrownonmetalandtransferredtoaSiO2coveredSiwafer(middle)topgatedMOSFETwithanepitaxialgraphenechannel
(right).Thechannelshowninredcanconsistofeitherlargeareagrapheneorgraphenenanoribbons.b,ProgressingrapheneMOSFET
development1,52,69,73comparedwiththeevolutionofnanotubeFETs78,98,99,100.

TopgatedgrapheneMOSFETshavebeenmadewithexfoliatedgraphene52,53,54,55,69,70,graphenegrownonmetalssuchas
nickelandcopper71,72,andepitaxialgraphene23,73,74SiO2,Al2O3,andHfO2havebeenusedforthetopgatedielectric.The
channelsofthesetopgatedgraphenetransistorshavebeenmadeusinglargeareagraphene,whichdoesnothaveabandgap,
sotheyhavenotbeenabletoswitchoff.
Largeareagraphenetransistorshaveauniquecurrentvoltagetransfercharacteristic(Fig.7a).Thecarrierdensityandthetype
ofcarrier(electronsorholes)inthechannelaregovernedbythepotentialdifferencesbetweenthechannelandthegates(top
gateand/orbackgate).Largepositivegatevoltagespromoteanelectronaccumulationinthechannel(ntypechannel),andlarge
negativegatevoltagesleadtoaptypechannel.Thisbehaviourgivesrisetothetwobranchesofthetransfercharacteristics
separatedbytheDiracpoint(Fig.7a).ThepositionoftheDiracpointdependsonseveralfactors:thedifferencebetweenthework
functionsofthegateandthegraphene,thetypeanddensityofthechargesattheinterfacesatthetopandbottomofthechannel
(Fig.6),andanydopingofthegraphene.TheonoffratiosreportedforMOSFETdeviceswithlargeareagraphenechannelsare
intherange220.
Figure7:DirectcurrentbehaviourofgrapheneMOSFETswithalargeareagraphenechannel.
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a,TypicaltransfercharacteristicsfortwoMOSFETswithlargeareagraphenechannels23,71.Theonoffratiosareabout3(MOSFET1)
and7(MOSFET2),farbelowwhatisneededforapplicationsinlogiccircuits.UnlikeconventionalSiMOSFETs,currentflowsforboth
positiveandnegativetopgatevoltages.b,Qualitativeshapeoftheoutputcharacteristics(draincurrent,I D,versusdrainsourcevoltage,
V DS )ofaMOSFETwithanntypelargeareagraphenechannel,fordifferentvaluesofthetopgatevoltage,V GS,top.Saturationbehaviour
canbeseen.AtsufficientlylargeV DS values,theoutputcharacteristicsfordifferentV GS ,topvaluesmaycross75,leadingtoazeroor
evennegativetransconductance,whichmeansthatthegatehaseffectivelylostcontrolofthecurrent.

TheoutputcharacteristicsofmanygrapheneMOSFETseithershowalinearshapewithoutanysaturation53oronlyweak
saturation73,74,eachofwhichisadisadvantagewithrespecttodevicespeed.However,somegrapheneMOSFETshavean
unusualformofsaturationlikebehaviourthatincludesasecondlinearregion70,71,75(Fig.7b).Ourpresentunderstandingofthe
originofthisbehaviourisasfollows.ForsmallvaluesofV DS,thetransistoroperatesinthelinearregionandtheentirechannelis
ntype(regionI).AsV DSisincreased,thedraincurrentstartstosaturateuntiltheinflectionpointatV DS=V DS,critisreached
(regionII).Atthispoint,thepotentialconditionsatthedrainendofthechannelcorrespondtotheDiracpoint.OnceV DSexceeds
V DS,crit,theconductiontypeatthedrainendofthechannelswitchesfromntypetoptype70,76andthetransistorentersa
secondlinearregion(regionIII).AtsufficientlylargevaluesofV DS,theoutputcharacteristicsfordifferentgatevoltagesmay
cross75,leadingtoazeroorevennegativetransconductanceahighlyundesirablesituation.Thispeculiarbehaviourisa
consequenceofthesedeviceshavinggaplesschannelsanddoesnotoccurinFETswithsemiconductingchannels.
Recently,grapheneMOSFETswithgigahertzcapabilitieshavebeenreported.Thesetransistorspossesslargeareachannelsof
exfoliated53,55,69,77andepitaxial73,74graphene.ThefastestgraphenetransistorcurrentlyisaMOSFETwitha240nmgate
thathasacutofffrequencyoff T =100GHz(ref.73),whichishigherthanthoseofthebestsiliconMOSFETswithsimilargate
lengths(asisthecutofffrequencyof53GHzreportedforadevicewitha550nmgate,alsoinref.73).Aweakpointofall
radiofrequencygrapheneMOSFETsreportedsofaristheunsatisfyingsaturationbehaviour(onlyweaksaturationorthesecond
linearregime),whichhasanadverseimpactonthecutofffrequency,theintrinsicgainandotherfiguresofmeritfor
radiofrequencydevices.However,outperformingsiliconMOSFETswhileoperatingwithonlyweakcurrentsaturation73iscertainly
impressive.
Figure8showsthecutofffrequencyforavarietyofdevicesincludinggrapheneMOSFETs,nanotubeFETs,andvarious
radiofrequencyFETs.ForconventionalradiofrequencyFETswithgatelengthsgreaterthan0.2m,thef T dataforeachtransistor
typehasanL 1dependence,whereListhegatelength.Furthermore,f T increaseswithmobility9.SiliconMOSFETsshow
channelmobilitiesofafew100cm2V1s1comparedwithabout6,000cm2V1s1forGaAspHEMTsandmorethan10,000
cm2V1s1forInPHEMTsandGaAsmHEMTs.Atshortergatelengths,however,themobilitybecomeslessimportantfor
transistorspeedandthedeleteriousinfluenceofparasiticresistancesandshortchanneleffectsincreases.Bothnanotubeand
grapheneFETsarestillslowerthanthebestconventionalradiofrequencyFETs,buttheyhaverecentlyovertakenthebestsilicon
MOSFETswithgatelengthsabove200nmandareapproachingtheperformanceofGaAspHEMTs.(Seeref.78fordetailsof
thenanotubewiththehighestf T reportedsofar,andref.79formoreinformationontheradiofrequencypotentialofnanotube
FETs.)
Figure8:ComparingcutofffrequenciesfordifferentFETs.

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CutofffrequencyversusgatelengthforgrapheneMOSFETs,nanotubeFETsandthreetypesofradiofrequencyFETthesymbolsare
experimentaldatapointsandthelinesareaguidetotheeyefortypeA(InPHEMTandGaAsmHEMT),B(SiMOSFET)andC(GaAs
pHEMT)devices(asindicated).TheFETAwiththehighestcutofffrequency(660GHz)isaGaAsmetamorphicHEMT(mHEMT)witha
20nmgate(M.Schlechtweg,personalcommunication).TheFETBwiththehighestcutofffrequency(485GHz)isaSiMOSFETwitha
29nmgate101.TheFETCwiththehighestcutofffrequency(152GHz)isaGaAspseudomorphicHEMT(pHEMT)witha100nmgate102.
Thefastestnanotubedevice(CNTFET)hasf T=80GHzandL=300nm(ref.78),andthefastestreportedgrapheneMOSFEThasf T=
100GHzandL=240nm(ref.73).

Althoughthelowonoffratiosdemonstratedsofarmakeuseinlogicdevicesunrealistic,transistorswithlargeareagraphene
channelsarepromisingcandidatesforradiofrequencyapplicationsbecauseradiofrequencyFETsarenotrequiredtoswitchoff
andcanbenefitfromthehighmobilitiesofferedbylargeareagraphene.However,theabsenceofdraincurrentsaturationwilllimit
theradiofrequencyperformanceofgraphenetransistors.
Onemethodofintroducingabandgapintographeneforlogicapplicationsistocreategraphenenanoribbons.Nanoribbon
MOSFETswithbackgatecontrolandwidthsdowntolessthan5nmhavebeenoperatedaspchanneldevicesandhadonoff
ratiosofupto106(Refs26,62).Suchhighratioshavebeenobtaineddespitesimulationsshowingthatedgedisorderleadstoan
undesirabledecreaseintheoncurrentsandasimultaneousincreaseintheoffcurrentofnanoribbonMOSFETs80,81.This,and
otherevidenceofasizeablebandgapopeninginnarrownanoribbons,providesproofofthesuitabilityofnanoribbonFETsfor
logicapplications.However,thesedeviceshadrelativelythickbackgateoxides,sovoltageswingsofseveralvoltswereneeded
forswitching,whichissignificantlymorethantheswingsof1VandlessneededtoswitchSiCMOSdevices2.Furthermore,
CMOSlogicrequiresbothnchannelandpchannelFETswithwellcontrolledthresholdvoltages,andgrapheneFETswithall
thesepropertieshavenotyetbeenreported.
Recently,thefirstgraphenenanoribbonMOSFETswithtopgatecontrolhavebeenreported82.Thesetransistorsfeatureathin
highdielectricconstant(highk)topgatedielectric(12nmofHfO 2),aroomtemperatureonoffratioof70andanoutstanding
transconductanceof3.2mSm1(whichishigherthanthetransconductancesreportedforstateoftheartsiliconMOSFETsand
IIIVHEMTs).

GraphenebilayerMOSFETshavebeeninvestigatedexperimentally83andbydevicesimulation84.Althoughtheonoffratios
reportedsofar(100atroomtemperatureand2,000atlowtemperature83)aretoosmallforlogicapplications,theymarka
significantimprovement(ofaboutafactorof10)overMOSFETsinwhichthechannelismadeoflargeareagaplessgraphene.
Thecontactresistancebetweenthemetallicsourceanddraincontactsandthegraphenechannelshouldbebrieflymentioned.So
far,thelowestreportedmetalgraphenecontactresistancesareintherange5001,000cm(Refs85,86),whichisaboutten
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timesthecontactresistanceofsiliconMOSFETsandIIIVHEMTs8,13.Remarkably,inspiteoftheimportanceofthecontacts
(particularlyforshortchanneldevices),onlyafewstudiesdealingwithmetalgraphenecontactshavebeenpublished85,86,87
andmoreworkisneededtounderstandthecontactproperties.
Inowreturntothetwodimensionalnatureofgraphene.Accordingtoscalingtheory,asnotedpreviously,athinchannelregion
allowsshortchanneleffectstobesuppressedandthusmakesitfeasibletoscaleMOSFETstoveryshortgatelengths.Thetwo
dimensionalnatureofgraphenemeansitoffersusthethinnestpossiblechannel,sographeneMOSFETsshouldbemore
scalablethantheircompetitors.Itshouldbenoted,however,thatscalingtheoryisvalidonlyfortransistorswithasemiconducting
channelanddoesnotapplytographeneMOSFETswithgaplesschannels.Thus,thescalingtheorydoesdescribenanoribbon
MOSFETs,whichhaveabandgapbutwhichhavesignificantlylowermobilitiesthanlargeareagraphene,asdiscussed.Given
thatthehighpublishedvaluesofmobilityrelatetogaplesslargeareagraphene,themostattractivecharacteristicofgraphenefor
useinMOSFETs,inparticularthoserequiredtoswitchoff,maybeitsabilitytoscaletoshorterchannelsandhigherspeeds,
ratherthanitsmobility.

Furtheroptionsforgraphenedevices
IthasbecomeclearthatgraphenedevicesbasedontheconventionalMOSFETprinciplesufferfromsomefundamental
problems.Thishasmotivatedresearcherstoexplorenewgraphenedeviceconcepts,suchastunnelFETsandbilayer
pseudospinFETs.InatunnelFET,thebandtobandtunnellingacrossthesourcechanneljunctioncanbecontrolledusingthe
gatesourcevoltage.ThebigadvantageoftunnelFETsisthattheirsubthresholdswingsarenotlimitedto60mVperdecade,as
inconventionalMOSFETs7,10,whichshouldleadtosteepersubthresholdcharacteristicsandbetterswitchoff.ThetunnelFET
approachhasalreadybeenexploredinsiliconandcarbonnanotubeMOSFETs88,89.TunnelFETsbasedonnanoribbonsand
bilayergraphenehavebeeninvestigatedinsimulations84,90,91buthavenotbeendemonstratedexperimentally.Inparticular,the
bilayergraphenetunnelFETisnowconsideredtobeapromisingdeviceforanumberofreasons:narrownanoribbonsarenot
needed,soedgedisorderwillnotbeaproblemandpatterningwillberelativelyeasythesmallbandgapopenedbyaverticalfield
appliedacrossthetwolayersissufficienttosuppressbandtobandtunnellingintheoffstateandthusenableseffectiveswitchoff
andthepossibilityofsubthresholdswingsbelow60mVperdecadeshouldmakehighonoffratiospossible84.
ThebilayerpseudospinFETconsistsofaverticalstackoftwographenelayersseparatedbyathindielectric92.Undercertainbias
conditionsthetunnellingresistancebetweenthetwographenelayersbecomessosmallthatthelayersareeffectivelyshorted,
causingtheFETtopassahighcurrent,whereasunderotherconditionsthetunnellingresistanceisverylarge,shuttingthe
currentoff.ThebilayerpseudospinFETmightthereforebeabletodeliverfastandultralowpowerlogicoperation.
AlthoughgraphenetunnelFETsandbilayerpseudospinFETsarebothstillatanembryonicstage,theyhavealreadygained
considerableattentionintheelectrondevicecommunityandhavebeenincludedinthechapteronemergingresearchdevicesin
thelatesteditionoftheITRS2.Itmightalsobepossibletomakeinterconnectsfromgraphene,whichwouldopenthepossibilityof
allgrapheneintegratedcircuitsinwhichboththeactivedevicesandthewiringweremadeofgraphene22.Ithasbeenshownthat
grapheneinterconnectscompetewellwithcopperinterconnects93,94indeed,graphenecansupportcurrentdensitiesgreater
than108Acm2(whichis100timeshigherthanthosesupportedbycopperandiscomparablewiththosesupportedby
nanotubes)95andhasathermalconductivityofaround3050Wcm1K1(incomparisonwith4Wcm1K1forcopper)96.

Outlook
Since2007,wehavewitnessedhugeprogressinthedevelopmentofgraphenetransistors.Mostimpressivewerethe
demonstrationsofagrapheneMOSFETwithacutofffrequencyof100GHz(ref.73),theexcellentswitchingbehaviourof
nanoribbonMOSFETs26,62,andchannelmobilitiesexceeding20,000cm2V1s1intopgatedgrapheneMOSFETs54.
However,thisprogresshasbeenaccompaniedbytheappearanceofanumberofproblems.MOSFETswithlargeareagraphene
channelscannotbeswitchedoff,makingthemunsuitableforlogicapplications,andtheirpeculiarsaturationbehaviourlimitstheir
radiofrequencyperformance.Nanoribbongraphene,whichdoeshaveabandgapandresultsintransistorsthatcanbeswitched
off,hasseriousfabricationissuesbecauseofthesmallwidthsrequiredandthepresenceofedgedisorder.
Theprimarychallengesfacingthecommunityatpresent,therefore,aretocreateinacontrolledandpracticalfashionabandgap
ingraphene,whichwouldallowlogictransistorstoswitchoffandradiofrequencytransistorstoavoidthesecondlinearregime(Fig.
7b),andtodevelopothermeansofimprovingtransistorsaturationcharacteristicsby,forexample,developingcontactsthatblock
onekindofcarrierwithoutdegradingthetransistor'sspeed.Thecommunitymayalsobenefitfromrecognizingthatthemotivation
tousegrapheneintransistorsinthefirstplacestemslessfromultrahighmobilitiesthanfromgraphene'sabilitytoscaletoshort
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gatelengthsandhighspeedsbyvirtueofitsthinness.
ThisdiscussionoftheproblemsofgrapheneMOSFETsshouldnotleadtotheconclusionthatgrapheneisnotapromising
materialfortransistors.Rather,Ihavechosenamorecriticalviewtoavoidasituationthathasbeenseeninthepast,inwhicha
newdeviceormaterialconcepthasbeenprematurelydeclaredcapableofreplacingthestatusquo.Also,IagreewithDavid
Ferry,aveteranofsemiconductordeviceresearch,whenhesaysthat97manysuchsaviourshavecomeandgone,yetthe
reliablesiliconCMOScontinuestobescaledandtoreachevenhigherperformancelevels.
Iconcludebynotingthatthefirsttopgatedgraphenetransistorswerereportedonlythreeyearsago.Giventhisshorthistory,and
giventhatallotherpossiblesuccessorstoconventionalmainstreamtransistorsalsofaceseriousproblems,wecannothelpbutbe
impressedwiththerapiddevelopmentofgraphene.Conceptsthathavebeeninvestigatedformanyyears,suchasspin
transistorsormoleculardevices,seemtobefartherfromrealapplicationthandoesgraphene,anditisnotcleariftheywillever
reachtheproductionstage.Atthemoment,itisimpossibletosaywhich,ifany,ofthealternativedeviceconceptsbeing
consideredwillreplaceconventionaltransistors.However,thelatestITRSroadmapstronglyrecommendsintensifiedresearchinto
grapheneandevencontainsaresearchanddevelopmentscheduleforcarbonbasednanoelectronics2.Theraceisstillopenand
theprospectsforgraphenedevicesareatleastaspromisingasthoseforalternativeconcepts.

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Acknowledgements
Thisworkwasfinanciallysupportedbythe20082009ExcellenceResearchGrantofTechnischeUniversittIlmenau.Theauthor
thanksA.CastroNeto,K.NovoselovandTh.Seyllerfordiscussions.HealsothanksSt.Thieleforhiscommentsandfor
grapheneMOSFETsimulations,andM.SchlechtwegforprovidingGaAsmetamorphicHEMTdatabeforepublication.

Authorinformation
Affiliations
TechnischeUniversittIlmenau,Postfach100565,98694Ilmenau,Germany.
FrankSchwierz
Competingfinancialinterests
Theauthordeclaresnocompetingfinancialinterests.

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