A CMOS-integrable ambipolar tellurene nanofilm-based negative differential transconductance transistor for multi-valued logic computing

Despite growing interest, the development of nanomaterial-based ternary inverters has often been hindered by the requirement for complex structures, which limit scalability and integration. In this study, we present a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible ambipolar Te nanofilm-based transistor with negative differential transconductance (NDT), which presents considerable potential for multi-valued logic computing without requiring a complicated fabrication process. The hydrothermally synthesized Te nanoflakes, encapsulated in an Al₂O₃ thin film <i>via</i> thermal atomic layer deposition, exhibited ambipolar behavior with distinct NDT characteristics. They are driven by Fermi level modulation and doping profile transitions, thereby supporting transitions through hole diffusion, band-to-band tunneling, and electron conduction. A Te transistor-based ternary inverter successfully demonstrated three stable logic states with a clear intermediate voltage state between the binary "0" and "1" states. We believe that this work highlights the potential of Te-based NDT transistors for application in next-generation computing architectures that can be implemented in high-data-density and energy-efficient operations.