Nonlinear electrical properties of Si three-terminal junction devices

This letter reports on the realization and characterization of silicon three-terminal junction devices made in a silicon-on-insulator wafer. Room temperature electrical measurements show that the fabricated devices exhibit pronounced nonlinear electrical properties inherent to ballistic electron transport in a three-terminal ballistic junction (TBJ) device. The results show that room temperature functional TBJ devices can be realized in a semiconductor material other than high-mobility III-V semiconductor heterostructures and provide a simple design principle for compact silicon devices in nanoelectronics. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3526725]