Mobility enhancement in silicon nanowire transistors

Electron and hole mobility in sub-10nm silicon nanowire FETs on (100) SOI has been systematically investigated experimentally. The nanowire height of fabricated nanowire FETs is as low as 4 - 10nm and the minimum nanowire width is shrunk to 5nm. Higher hole mobility than (100) universal mobility is experimentally observed for the first time in 9nm-wide nanowire and even in 5nm-wide nanowire, while electron mobility degradation is minimized in nanowire nFET. Underlying physical mechanisms are discussed.