The development of data-centric computing requires new energy-efficient electronics that can overcome the fundamental limitations of conventional silicon transistors. A range of novel transistor concepts have been explored, but an approach that can simultaneously offer high drive current and steep slope switching while delivering the necessary scaling in footprint is still lacking. Here, we report scaled vertical-nanowire heterojunction tunnelling transistors that are based on the broken-band GaSb/InAs system. The devices offer a drive current of 300 µA µm⁻¹ and a sub-60 mV dec⁻¹ switching slope at an operating voltage of 0.3 V. The approach relies on extreme quantum confinement at the tunnelling junction and is based on an interface-pinned energy band alignment at the tunnelling heterojunction under strong quantization.

以数据为中心的计算的发展需要新的节能电子产品，以克服传统硅晶体管的基本限制。已经探索了一系列新颖的晶体管概念，但仍然缺乏一种既能同时提供高驱动电流和陡峭斜率开关，又能提供必要的尺寸缩放的方法。在这里，我们报道了基于碎带 GaSb/InAs 系统的缩放垂直纳米线异质结隧道晶体管。这些器件在 0.3 V 的工作电压下提供 300 μA ^μm-1 的驱动电流和低于 60 mV 的 ^dec-1 开关斜率。该方法依赖于隧道结处的极端量子限制，并基于强量子化下隧道异质结处的界面固定能带对齐。