A deterministic nonlinear-capacitor model for single-electron tunneling junctions

Single-electron tunneling junctions (SETJs) have intriguing properties which make them a primary nanoelectronic device for highly compact, fast, and low-power circuits. However, standard models for SETJs are based on a quantum mechanical approach which is very impractical for the analysis and design of SETJ-based circuitry, where a simple, preferably deterministic model is a prerequisite. We verify by physics-based Monte Carlo simulations that the tunneling junction can in fact be modeled by a piecewise linear voltage charge relation, which, from the circuit-theoretic perspective, is a nonlinear capacitor.