Abstract
Conventional gate-all-around (GAA) Si nanowire field-effect transistors (NWFETs) are reaching their fundamental scaling limits as channel length reduction exacerbates short-channel effects (SCEs). In this work, the performance of sub-5 nm gate-length (Lg) GAA SiGe NWFETs is systematically investigated using first-principles quantum transport simulations, revealing superior performance over conventional Si FETs. The results reveal that at Lg = 3 and 5 nm, key performance metrics such as on-state current (Ion), subthreshold swing (SS), delay time(tau), and power dissipation (PDP) meet the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) high-performance (HP) standards. At Lg = 5 nm, the n- and p-type devices demonstrate ultra-low SS values of 63 mV dec-1 and 89 mV dec-1, representing 42.2% and 14.4% reductions compared to conventional Si FETs, respectively. Furthermore, applying a -1% compressive strain significantly improves the performance of FETs, increasing the Ion by 41% and reducing the subthreshold swing, delay time, and power dissipation by 10%, 39%, and 14%, respectively. These findings underscore the significant potential of SiGe GAA NWFETs for future high-performance nanoelectronics.