Tellurene, a single layer of tellurium, is a new emerging 2D material and a possible candidate for the post-silicon era. It has anisotropic carrier effective mass in zigzag and armchair directions. Therefore, the study of the anisotropic performance of tellurene FETs is a timely topic. In this work, the authors study the transport mechanism and performance metrics of tellurene n-channel and p-channel transistors using a quantum simulation. Heavy carrier mass in the armchair direction

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... blocks the tunnelling current and the transport is governed by thermionic emission over the potential barrier. On the other hand, lighter carrier mass in the zigzag direction results in a mixed tunnelling and thermionic transport mechanism. The n-channel transistor has an on-state current of 894 μA/μm, a sub-threshold slope of 62 mV/dec, a 9.27 mS/μm transconductance, a 0.129 ps delay, and a 0.046 fJ/μm dynamic power loss. The p-channel metrics are, respectively, 852 μA/μm, 62 mV/dec, 9.24 mS/μm, 0.117 ps, and 0.040 fJ/μm. Both the transistors comply with the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors 2026 low operating power device requirements.