Orientation-engineered PtTe2 Schottky FETs: Quantum transport insights for dopant-free advanced technology nodes

As transistor scaling pushes beyond the 5 nm node, conventional silicon-based field effect transistors (FETs) face critical challenges including short-channel effects, high contact resistance, and power dissipation. This work presents a comprehensive quantum transport study of monomaterial Schottky-junction FETs based on monolayer PtTe ₂ , leveraging its unique thickness-dependent electronic properties – where the semimetallic bilayer serves as the source/drain and the semiconducting monolayer forms the channel. First-principles simulations reveal that the device architecture enables efficient, doping-free carrier injection, sharp electrostatic switching, and directional performance tunability. Our results show that transport along the Γ–M orientation achieves superior ON-state current, subthreshold swing (as low as 75 mV/dec), and suppressed OFF-state current, meeting both high-performance (HP) and low-power (LP) IRDS targets at 2–7 nm gate lengths. Projected local density of states (PLDoS) and energy-resolved current spectra further reveal distinct transport regimes and efficient Schottky barrier modulation. Compared to contemporary 2D-channel transistors, the monomaterial PtTe ₂ Schottky FET offers a balanced trade-off between scalability, simplicity, carrier injection, and low-power operation. These findings position monolayer PtTe ₂ as one of the compelling candidates for ultra-scaled logic devices and highlight the strategic advantage of monomaterial, orientation-engineered architectures for beyond-CMOS nanoelectronics.