Single gate heterostructure dopingless TFET: a comprehensive sensitivity investigation with exposure to various chemical analytes

Abstract This study proposes a new chemical sensor designed using a single gate heterostructure dopingless tunnel field effect transistor (SG-HS-DLT). Combining Si 0.6 Ge 0.4 in the source and HfO 2 as the gate dielectric improves the sensor’s drain current sensitivity. Many chemical analytes, including hexane (C 6 H 14 ), methanol (CH 3 OH), isopropanol (Iso-C 3 H 7 OH), dichloromethane (CH 2 Cl 2 ), and chloroform (CHCl 3 ) have been considered during the investigation. The conducting polymer is used as the gate metal due to its compatibility with the electronic chemical sensor. Modifying the gate work function with exposure to chemical substances is employed to determine the sensitivity of the reported chemical sensor. The electrical performance of the sensor is examined using transfer characteristics, switching ratio, average SS, BTBT rate, threshold voltage, electron concentration, energy band, and potential. Correspondingly, the sensitivity investigation comprises drain current sensitivity (S Drain ), current ratio sensitivity (S R ), average SS sensitivity (S AvgSS ), and threshold voltage sensitivity (S VT ). Further, the sensitivity analysis is extended for various temperatures and mole fractions (x). The SG-HS-DLT chemical sensor displays a higher value of S Drain of 3.64 × 10 5 , S Avg.SS of 0.69444 for CHCl 3 at room temperature. This article extensively uses the Silvaco TCAD simulation software to investigate the proposed chemical sensor.