Failure of Ohm's law: Its implications on the design of nanoelectronic devices and circuits

Abstract

Impact of Ohm's law failure on the design of twenty-first-century nano-circuits is evaluated and discussed. The direct and differential resistance is shown to rise dramatically in the nonohmic regime, where applied voltage V ≫ Vc, the critical voltage for the onset of nonohmic behavior. The velocity-field characteristics that affect transport in quantum nanostructures are reviewed. The impact on the familiar current and voltage division laws and CMOS design is indicated. The results presented are useful in characterizing and evaluating performance of nano-devices and related circuits. © 2006 IEEE.