Progress on a Carbon Nanotube Field-Effect Transistor Integrated Circuit: State of the Art, Challenges, and Evolution

As the traditional silicon-based CMOS technology advances into the nanoscale stage, approaching its physical limits, the Carbon Nanotube Field-effect Transistor (CNTFET) is considered to be the most significant transistor technology beyond Moore’s era. The CNTFET has a quasi-one-dimensional structure so that the carrier can realize ballistic transport and has very high mobility. At the same time, a single CNTFET can integrate hundreds of nanowires as the conductive channels, enabling significant current transport capabilities even in low supply voltage, thereby providing a foundational basis for achieving nanoscale ultra-large-scale analog/logic circuits. This paper summarizes the development status of the CNTFET compact model and digital/analog/RF integrated circuits. The challenges faced by SPICE modeling and circuit design are analyzed. Meanwhile, solutions to these challenges and development trends of carbon-based transistors are discussed. Finally, the future application prospects of carbon-based integrated circuits are presented.