However, this is still a topic of scientific controversy. In addition, direct observation of NC was reported in 7 as well. Subsequently, sub 60mV/dec behavior in limited regions of the FE MOS subthreshold regime has been experimentally demonstrated as well as explained by QSNC theory in various works 2– 6. The theory predicted a surface potential amplification upon stabilization of the quasi-static NC, which is quantified by the body factor ‘ m’. This concept assumed that a quasi-static ( QS) NC can occur in FE based dielectric stacks, and a Landau based formalism was used to predict its existence 1. The Negative Capacitance (NC) based FET in which the regular gate oxide would be replaced by a ferroelectric (FE) oxide was proposed some time ago to beat this “Boltzmann tyranny” 1.

Breaking this limit has been the topic of intense investigations over the last years as it would allow producing CMOS circuits that consume less power.

This leads to a fundamental limit in the steepness of the I-V characteristic in the subthreshold regime, which is 60mV/dec at room temperature. In the non-degenerate limit, the charge carriers in a MOSFET follow the Boltzmann distribution.

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