Temperature-dependent performance of Schottky-Barrier FET ultra-low-power diode

•SBFET ULP diode offer superior performance compared to standard CMOS with regards to the bell-shaped I-V characteristics in reverse mode•Interest to design ULP latch circuits and SRAMs•Better performance of the SB-FETs in weak inversion and as a function of temperature•SB-FET ULL diode can provide–a peak current less degraded at low temperature–a valley current less degraded at high temperature–a more robust (i.e. constant) peak-to-valley ratio from 230K to 375K•Possibility to design the memory cells w SB-FET ULP diode using about 2× less area than in standard CMOS In this paper, for the first time, we apply the ultra-low-power (ULP) diode concept with Schottky Barrier (SB) transistors and analyze their performance in comparison to standard CMOS, using calibrated TCAD mixed-mode simulations. The negative impedance characteristics obtained in reverse mode with SB devices are shown to offer more stable current characteristics compared to CMOS, especially as a function of temperature. The origin of this behavior manifests itself in the fact that carriers tunneling through the barrier by field emission and carriers overcoming the barrier by thermionic emission both contribute to the total device current. This enables superior current performance over temperature. This enables ultra-low-power memory application over a larger temperature range, or with a denser cell area.