Revolutionizing low-power efficiency: Unveiling the potential of Mg2Ge as source material in double gate vertical TFET design

Driven by the continuous miniaturization of device geometries and the increasing demand for higher switching speeds to minimize power dissipation, the tunnel field-effect transistor (TFET) presents a viable alternative to the conventional MOSFET. This study undertakes a comprehensive analysis of a Double-Gate Vertical TFET (DG-VTFET) architecture, comparatively evaluating silicon (Si) and magnesium germanide (Mg₂Ge) as source materials. Exploiting the band-to-band tunneling (BTBT) mechanism and, for the first time, employing the low-bandgap material Mg₂Ge (0.69 eV at room temperature, significantly lower than the 1.12 eV bandgap of Si), demonstrably superior performance is achieved compared to a conventional Si-based vertical TFET. Specifically, enhancements are observed in ON-state current (I_ON), average subthreshold swing (SS), threshold voltage (V_th), and current switching ratio, yielding values of 0.04 mA, 35.60 mV/dec, 0.282 V, and 4.405 × 10¹¹, respectively. These results underscore the potential of the Mg₂Ge-based VTFET for low-power applications.