A team at NaMLab, together with our partners at GlobalFoundries Fab 1 in Dresden, just published an article in Nature Communications, explaining for the first time how reconfigurable transistors (RFETs) can be used for analog application. By exploiting the unique features of the 22 nm FDSOI platform at GlobalFoundries, a very compact RFET version could be derived, which is programmed by the applied voltage from the back-side of the SOI channel. Three distinct operation modes (p-type, n-type, and ambipolar) could be achieved, leading to three different circuit functions, a frequency doubler, a phase follower, and a phase shifter. It has been proven experimentally, that the circuit can be switched between the modes dynamically and reversibly. We believe the concept has great potential for applications in mixed-signal processing, sensing, hardware security, and maybe even data transmitters.
The full paper is available under open access here: https://rdcu.be/cZUu1
In addition, there are insight ‘behind the paper’ available at Nature Portfolio, where the responsible senior scientist at NaMLab explains to progress towards this achievement. Read the full story here: