Interband quantum tunneling of electrons in semiconductors is of intense recent interest as the underlying transport mechanism in tunneling field-effect transistors. Such transistors can potentially perform electronic switching with lower energy than their conventional counterparts. The recent emergence of 2-dimensional semiconducting crystals provides a new material platform for realizing such devices. In this work, we derive an analytical expression for understanding tunneling current flow in 2D crystal semiconductors. We apply the results to a range of 2D crystal semiconductors, and compare it with tunneling currents in 3D semiconductors. We also discuss the implications for tunneling devices.
@article{arxiv.1302.3259,
title = {Interband Tunneling in 2D Crystal Semiconductors},
author = {Nan Ma and Debdeep Jena},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1302.3259},
year = {2015}
}