Comparative analysis of nanowire and nanosheet FETs: assessing analog, RF and circuit performance benchmarks

Abstract This study compares nanowire FET (NWFET) and nanosheet FET (NSFET) performance at low supply voltage, highlighting the capabilities of both gate-all-around architectures for beyond-FinFET CMOS. Both devices exhibit suitable DC characteristics, high transconductance, low output conductance, high cutoff frequencies, and large DC gain, making them attractive for low-power analogue, digital, and RF applications. NWFETs show stronger electrostatic control, leading to higher peak transconductance, reduced output conductance, and larger gain peaks for both n- and p-type devices, which benefits high-gain inverters with sharp voltage transfer characteristics and robust transient response in logic circuits. In contrast, NSFETs provide very good drive capability together with improved saturation behaviour and bias robustness, which is advantageous for analogue and mixed-signal designs that require stable operation over process and bias variations. Despite the intrinsic electrostatic and RF advantages of NWFETs, NSFETs are currently favoured for large-scale manufacturing because their wider channels offer higher effective width within a given footprint, and their planar-like geometry is more compatible with existing process flows, resulting in better process integration, lower variability, and higher yield. NWFET fabrication, by comparison, requires more complex steps such as precise nanowire definition, selective release etching, and tight control of wire diameter and spacing, which increase process complexity and susceptibility to variability. Consequently, while NWFETs may deliver better device-level performance, NSFETs offer a more manufacturable and scalable solution for high-volume production. This work, therefore, positions NWFETs and NSFETs as complementary options: NWFETs as performance-oriented candidates where higher process complexity is acceptable, and NSFETs as the practical choice for mainstream advanced-node CMOS technologies.