Effect of edge roughness in graphene nanoribbon transistors

The effects of edge irregularity and mixed edge shapes on the characteristics of graphene nanoribbon transistors are examined by self-consistent atomistic simulations based on the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism. The minimal leakage current increases due to the localized states induced in the band gap, and the on-current decreases due to smaller quantum transmission and the self-consistent electrostatic effect in general. Although the ratio between the on-current and minimal leakage current decreases, the transistor still switches even in the presence of edge roughness. The variation between devices, however, can be large, especially for a short channel length.