Re-Examination of Uniaxial Stress Effects in Ultra-Scaled GAAFETs

This work investigates the effects of uniaxial stress on the performance of ultra-scaled gate-all-around field-effect transistors (GAAFETs) through multi-subband Boltzmann transport equation (MSBTE)-based simulations. Both scattering-limited and ballistic on-state saturation currents are calculated to explore the effectiveness of uniaxial stress in enhancing device performance. Although uniaxial stress (within the experimentally achievable range of values) still yields performance gains, the underlying physical mechanisms differ from those observed in previous technology nodes. By extracting key parameters, such as ballistic injection velocity, quantum gate capacitance and backscattering coefficient, we provide fundamental physical insight into the impact of stress in ultra-scaled GAAFETs.