Theory, Modelling and Implementation of Graphene Field-Effect Transistor

Abstract

Two-dimensional materials with atomic thickness have attracted a lot of attention from researchers worldwide due to their excellent electronic and optical properties. As the silicon technology is approaching its limit, graphene with ultrahigh carrier mobility and ultralow resistivity shows the potential as channel material for novel high speed transistor beyond silicon. This thesis summarises my Ph.D. work including the theory and modelling of graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) as well as their potential RF applications. The introduction and review of existing graphene transistors are presented. Multiscale modelling approaches for graphene devices are also introduced. A novel analytical GFET model based on the drift-diffusion transport theory is then developed for RF/microwave circuit analysis. Since the electrons and holes have different mobility variations against the channel potential in graphene, the ambipolar GFET cannot be modelled with constant carrier mobility. A new carrier mobility function, which enables the accurate modelling of the ambipolar property of GFET, is hence developed for this purpose. The new model takes into account the carrier mobility variation against the bias voltage as well as the mobility difference between electrons and holes. It is proved to be more accurate for the DC current calculation. The model has been written in Verilog-A language and can be import into commercial software such as Keysight ADS for circuit simulation. In addition, based on the proposed model two GFET non-Foster circuits (NFCs) are conducted. As a negative impedance element, NFCs find their applications in impedance matching of electrically small antennas and bandwidth improvement of metasurfaces. One of the NFCs studied in this thesis is based on the Linvill's technique in which a pair of identical GFETs is used while the other circuit utilises the negative resistance of a single GFET. The stability analysis of NFCs is also presented. Finally, a high impedance surface loaded with proposed NFCs is also studied, demonstrating significant bandwidth enhancement.