A scalable model of the substrate network in deep N-Well RF MOSFETs with multiple fingers

A novel scalable model of substrate components for deep n-well (DNW) RF MOSFETs with different number of fingers is presented for the first time. The test structure developed in [1] is employed to directly access the characteristics of the substrate to extract the different substrate components. A methodology is developed to directly extract the parameters for the substrate network from the measured data. By using the measured two-port data of a set of nMOSFETs with different number of fingers, with the DNW in grounded and float configuration, respectively, the parameters of the scalable substrate model are obtained. The method and the substrate model are further verified and validated by matching the measured and simulated output admittances. Excellent agreement up to 40 GHz for configurations in common-source has been achieved

Compact modelling in RF CMOS technology

With the continuous downscaling of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology, the RF performance of metal-oxide-semiconductor field transistors (MOSFETs) has considerably improved over the past years. Today, the standard CMOS technology has become a popular choice for realizing radio frequency (RF) applications. The focus of the thesis is on device compact modelling methodologies in RF CMOS. Compact models oriented to integrated circuit (ICs) computer automatic design (CAD) are the key component of a process design kit (PDK) and the bridge between design houses and foundries. In this work, a novel substrate model is proposed for accurately characterizing the behaviour of RF-MOSFETs with deep n-wells (DNW). A simple test structure is presented to directly access the substrate parasitics from two-port measurements in DNWs. The most important passive device in RFIC design in CMOS is the spiral inductor. A 1-pi model with a novel substrate network is proposed to characterize the broadband loss mechanisms of spiral inductors. Based on the proposed 1-pi model, a physics-originated fully-scalable 2-pi model and model parameter extraction methodology are also presented for spiral inductors in this work. To test and verify the developed active and passive device models and model parameter extraction methods, a series of RF-MOSFETs and planar on-chip spiral inductors with different geometries manufactured by employing standard RF CMOS processes were considered. Excellent agreement between the measured and the simulated results validate the compact models and modelling technologies developed in this work

Nanowire Transistors and RF Circuits for Low-Power Applications

The background of this thesis is related to the steadily increasing demand of higher bandwidth and lower power consumption for transmitting data. The work aims at demonstrating how new types of structures, at the nanoscale, combined with what is referred to as exotic materials, can help benefit in electronics by lowering the consumed power, possibly by an order of magnitude, compared to the industry standard, silicon (Si), used today. Nanowires are semiconductor rods, with two dimensions at the nanoscale, which can be either grown with a bottom-up technique, or etched out with a top-down approach. The research interest concerning nanowires has gradually increasing for over two decades. Today, few have doubts that nanowires represent an attractive alternative, as scaling of planar structures has reached fundamental limits. With the enhanced electrostatics of a surrounding gate, nanowires offer the possibility of continued miniaturization, giving semiconductors a prolonged window of performance improvements. As a material choice, compound semiconductors with elements from group III and V (III-Vs), such as indium arsenide (InAs), have the possibility to dramatically decrease power consumption. The reason is the inherent electron transport properties of III-Vs, where an electron can travel, in the order of, 10 times faster than in Si. In the projected future, inclusion of III-Vs, as an extension to the Si-CMOS platform, seems almost inevitable, with many of the largest electronics manufacturing companies showing great interest. To investigate the technology potential, we have fabricated InAs nanowire metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (NW-FETs). The performance has been evaluated measuring both RF and DC characteristics. The best devices show a transconductance of 1.36 mS/µm (a device with a single nanowire, normalized to the nanowire circumference) and a maximum unilateral power gain at 57 GHz (for a device with several parallel nanowires), both values at a drive voltage of 0.5 V. The performance metrics are found to be limited by the capacitive load of the contact pads as well as the resistance in the non-gated segments of the nanowires. Using computer models, we have also been able to extract intrinsic transport properties, quantifying the velocity of charge carrier injection, which is the limiting property of semi-ballistic and ballistic devices. The value for our 45-nm-in-diameter nanowires, with 200 nm channel length, is determined to 1.7∙107 cm/s, comparable to other state-of-the-art devices at the same channel length. To demonstrate a higher level of functionality, we have connected several NW-FETs in a circuit. The fabricated circuit is a single balanced differential direct conversion mixer and is composed of three stages; transconductance, mixing, and transimpedance. The basic idea of the mixer circuit is that an information signal can either be extracted from or inserted into a carrier wave at a higher frequency than the information wave itself. It is the relative size of the first and the third stage that accounts for the circuit conversion gain. Measured circuits show a voltage conversion gain of 6 dB and a 3-dB bandwidth of 2 GHz. A conversion mixer is a vital component when building a transceiver, like those found in a cellphone and any other type of radio signal transmitting device. For all types of signals, noise imposes a fundamental limitation on the minimal, distinguishable amplitude. As transistors are scaled down, fewer carriers are involved in charge transport, and the impact of frequency dependent low-frequency noise gets relatively larger. Aiming towards low power applications, it is thus of importance to minimize the amount of transistor generated noise. Included in the thesis are studies of the level and origin of low-frequency 1/f-noise generated in NW-FETs. The measured noise spectral density is comparable to other non-planar devices, including those fabricated in Si. The data suggest that the level of generated noise can be substantially lowered by improving the high-k dielectric film quality and the channel interface. One significant discovery is that the part of the noise originating from the bulk nanowire, identified as mobility fluctuations, is comparably much lower than the measured noise level related to the nanowire surface. This result is promising as mobility fluctuations set the lower limit of what is achievable within a material system

Vertical InAs Nanowire Devices and RF Circuits

Recent decades have seen an exponential increase in the functionality of electronic circuits, allowing for continuous innovation, which benefits society. This increase in functionality has been facilitated by scaling down the dimensions of the most important electronic component in modern electronics: the Si-based MOSFET. By reducing the size of the device, more transistors per chip area is possible. Smaller MOSFETs are also faster and more energy-efficient. In state of the art MOSFETs, the key dimensions are only few nanometers, rapidly approaching a point where the current scaling scheme may not be maintained. Research is ongoing to improve the device performance, mainly focusing on material and structural improvements to the existing MOSFET architecture. In this thesis, MOSFETs based on nanowires, are investigated. Taking advantage of the nanowire geometry, the gate can be wrapped all-around the nanowires for excellent control of the channel. The nanowires are made in a high-mobility III-V semiconductor, InAs, allowing for faster electrons and higher currents than Si. This device type is a potential candidate to either replace or complement Si-based MOSFETs in digital and analogue applications. Single balanced down-conversion mixer circuits were fabricated, consisting of three vertically aligned InAs nanowire MOSFETs and two nanowire resistors. These circuits are shown to operate with voltage gain in the GHz-regime. Individual transistors demonstrated operation with gain at several tens of GHz. A method to characterise the resistivity and metal-semiconductor contact quality has been developed, using the transmission line method adapted for vertical nanowires. This method has successfully been applied to InAs nanowires and shown that low-resistance contacts to these nanowires are possible. To optimise the performance of the device and reach as close to intrinsic operation as possible, parasitic capacitances and resistances in the device structure need to be minimised. A novel self-aligned gate-last fabrication method for vertical InAs nanowire transistors has been developed, that allows for an optimum design of the channel and the contact regions. Transistors fabricated using this method exhibit the best DC performance, in terms of a compromise between the normalised transconductance and sub-threshold swing, of any previously reported vertical nanowire MOSFET

InAs Nanowire Devices and Circuits

Since the introduction of the transistor and the integrated circuit, the semiconductor industry has developed at a remarkable pace. By continuously fabricating smaller and faster transistors, it has been possible to maintain an exponential increase in performance, a phenomenon famously described by Moore’s Law. Today, billions of transistors are integrated on a single chip and the size of a transistor is on the scale of tens of nanometres. Until recently, the improvements in performance and integration density have been mostly driven by scaling down the transistor size. However, as the length scale is rapidly approaching that of only a few atoms, this scaling paradigm may not continue forever. Instead, the research community, as well as the industry, is investigating alternative structures and materials in order to further increase the performance. One emerging technology for use in future electronic circuits is transistors based on nanowires. The nanowire transistor structure investigated in this work combines a number of key technologies to achieve a higher performance than traditional Si-based transistors. Epitaxially grown nanowires are naturally oriented in the vertical direction, which means that the devices may be fabricated from the bottom and up. This three-dimensional structure allows a higher integration density and enables the gate to completely surround the channel in a gate-all-around configuration. Combined with a high-k dielectric, this results in an excellent electrostatic gate control. Furthermore, nanowires have the unique ability to combine semiconductor materials with significantly different lattice constants. By introducing InAs as a channel material, a much higher electron mobility than for Si is achieved. In this work, simulations of nanowire-based devices are performed and the ultimate performance is predicted. A nanowire transistor architecture with a realistic footprint is proposed and a roadmap is established for the scaling of the device structure, based on a set of technology nodes. Benchmarking is performed against competing technologies, both from a device and circuit perspective. The physical properties of nanowire transistors, and the corresponding capacitor structure, are investigated by band-structure simulations. Based on these simulations, a ballistic transport model is used to derive the intrinsic transistor characteristics. This is combined with an extensive evaluation and optimization of the parasitic elements in the transistor structure for each technology node. It is demonstrated that an optimized nanowire transistor has the potential to operate at terahertz frequencies, while maintaining a low power consumption. A high quality factor and extremely high integration density is predicted for the nanowire capacitor structure. It is concluded that InAs nanowire devices show great potential for use in future electronic circuits, both in digital and analogue applications

Scaling the bulk-driven MOSFET into deca-nanometer bulk CMOS technologies

The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors predicts that the nominal power supply voltage, VDD, will fall to 0.7 V by the end of the bulk CMOS era. At that time, it is expected that the long-channel threshold voltage of a MOSFET, VT0, will rise to 35.5% of VDD in order to maintain acceptable off-state leakage characteristics in digital systems. Given the recent push for system-on-a-chip integration, this increasing trend in VT0/VDD poses a serious threat to the future of analog design because it causes traditional analog circuit topologies to experience progressively problematic signal swing limitations in each new process generation. To combat the process-scaling-induced signal swing limitations of analog circuitry, researchers have proposed the use of bulk-driven MOSFETs. By using the bulk terminal as an input rather than the gate, the bulk-driven MOSFET makes it possible to extend the applicability of any analog cell to extremely low power supply voltages because VT0 does not appear in the device\u27s input signal path. Since the viability of the bulk-driven technique was first investigated in a 2 um p-well process, there have been numerous reports of low-voltage analog designs incorporating bulk-driven MOSFETs in the literature - most of which appear in technologies with feature sizes larger than 0.18 um. However, as of yet, no effort has been undertaken to understand how sub-micron process scaling trends have influenced the performance of a bulk-driven MOSFET, let alone make the device more adaptable to the deca-nanometer technologies widely used in the analog realm today. Thus, to further the field\u27s understanding of the bulk-driven MOSFET, this dissertation aims to examine the implications of scaling the device into a standard 90 nm bulk CMOS process. This dissertation also describes how the major disadvantages of a bulk-driven MOSFET - i.e., its reduced intrinsic gain, its limited frequency response and its large layout area requirement - can be mitigated through modifications to the device\u27s vertical doping profile and well structure. To gauge the potency of the proposed process changes, an optimized n-type bulk-driven MOSFET has been designed in a standard 90 nm bulk CMOS process via the 2-D device simulator, ATLAS

Multigate MOSFETs for digital performance and high linearity, and their fabrication techniques

The aggressive downscaling of complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology is facing great challenges to overcome severe short-channel effects. Multigate MOSFETs are one of the most promising candidates for scaling beyond Si CMOS, due to better electrostatic control as compared to conventional planar MOSFETs. Conventional dry etching-induced surface damage is one of the main sources of performance degradation for multigate transistors, especially for III-V high mobility materials. It is also challenging to increase the fin aspect ratio by dry etching because of the non-ideal anisotropic etching profile. Here, we report a novel method, inverse metal-assisted chemical etching (i-MacEtch), in lieu of conventional RIE etching, for 3D fin channel formation. InP junctionless FinFETs with record high-aspect-ratio (~ 50:1) fins are demonstrated by this method for the first time. The i-MacEtch process flow eliminates dry-etching-induced plasma damage, high energy ion implantation damage, and high temperature annealing, allowing for the fabrication of InP fin channels with atomically smooth sidewalls. The sidewall features resulting from this unique and simplified process ensure high interface quality between high-k dielectric layer and InP fin channel. Experimental and theoretical analyses show that high-aspect-ratio FinFETs, which could deliver more current per area under much relaxed horizontal geometry requirements, are promising in pushing the technology node ahead where conventional scaling has met its physical limits. The performance of the FinFET was further investigated through numerical simulation. A new kind of FinFET with asymmetric gate and source/drain contacts has been proposed and simulated. By benchmarking with conventional symmetric FinFET, better short-channel behavior with much higher current density is confirmed. The design guidelines are provided. The overall circuit delay can be minimized by optimizing gate lengths according to different local parasites among circuits in interconnection-delay-dominated SoC applications. Continued transistor scaling requires even stronger gate electrostatic control over the channel. The ultimate scaling structure would be gate-all-around nanowire MOSFETs. We demonstrate III-V junctionless gate-all-around (GAA) nanowire (NW) MOSFETs for the first time. For the first time, source/drain (S/D) resistance and thermal budget are minimized by regrowth using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) in III-V MOSFETs. The fabricated short-channel (Lg=80 nm) GaAs GAA NWFETs with extremely narrow nanowire width (WNW= 9 nm) show excellent transconductance (gm) linearity at biases (300 mV), characterized by the high third intercept point (2.6 dBm). The high linearity is especially important for low power applications because it is insensitive to bias conditions

Caractérisation électrique des propriétés d'interface dans les MOSFET nanométriques par des mesures de bruit basse fréquence

In this thesis, electrical properties of gate oxide/channel interface in ultra-scaled nanowire (NW) MOSFETs were experimentally investigated by carrier transport and low-frequency noise (LFN) characterizations. NW FETs, which have aggressively downscaled cross-section of the body, are strong candidates for near future CMOS node. However, the interface quality could be a critical issue due to the large surface/volume ratio, the multiple surface orientations, and additional strain technology to enhance the performance. Understanding of carrier transport and channel interface quality in NW FETs with advanced high-k/metal gate is thus particularly important. LFN provides deep insights into the interface properties of MOSFET without lower limit of required channel size. LFN measurement thus can be a powerful technique for ultra-scaled NW FETs. Also, fitting mobility (such as low-field mobility) extraction by Y-function method is an efficient method. Omega-gate NW FETs were fabricated from FD-SOI substrates, and with Hf-based high-k/metal gate (HfSiON/TiN), reducing detrimental effects by device downscaling. In addition, strain technologies to the channel were additively processed. Tensile strained-SOI substrate was used for NMOS, whereas compressive stressors were used for PMOS devices. Strained Si channel for PMOS was processed by raised SiGe S/D and CESL formations. Strained SiGe channel (SGOI) was also fabricated for further high-performance PMOS FETs. Firstly, the most common Id-Vg was characterized in single-channel NW FETs as the basic performance. Reference SOI NWs provided the excellent static control down to short channel of 17nm. Stressors dramatically enhanced on-current owing to a modification of channel energy-band structure. Then, extracted low-field mobility in NWs also showed large improvement of the performance by stressors. The mobility extraction effectively evaluated FET performance even for ultra-scaled NWs. Next, LFN investigated for various technological and architectural parameters. Carrier number fluctuations with correlated mobility fluctuations (CNF+CMF) model described 1/f noise in all our FETs down to the shortest NWs. Drain current noise behavior was basically similar in both N- and PMOS FETs regardless of technological splits. Larger 1/f noise stemming from S/D regions in PMOS FETs was perfectly interpreted by the CNF+CMF model completed with Rsd fluctuations. This observation highlighted an advantage of SGOI NW with the lowest level of S/D region noise. Geometrical variations altered the CNF component with simple impact of device scaling (reciprocal to both Wtot and Lg). No large impact of surface orientation difference between the channel (100) top and (110) side-walls in [110]-oriented NWs was observed. Scaling regularity with both Wtot and Lg, without much quantum effect, could be attributed to the use of HfSiON/TiN gate and carrier transport occurring mostly near top and side-wall surfaces even in NW geometry. Meanwhile, the CMF factor was not altered by decreasing dimensions, while the mobility strongly depends on the impact. Extracted oxide trap density was roughly steady with scaling, structure, and technological parameter impacts. Simple separation method of the contributions between channel top surface and side-walls was demonstrated in order to evaluate the difference. It revealed that oxide quality on (100) top and (110) side-walls was roughly comparable in all the [110]-devices. The density values lie in similar order as the recent reports. An excellent quality of the interface with HfSiON/TiN gate was thus sustained for all our technological and geometrical splits. Finally, our NWs fulfilled 1/f LFN requirements stated in the ITRS 2013 for future MG CMOS logic node. Consequently, we concluded that appropriate strain technologies powerfully improve both carrier transport and LFN property for future CMOS circuits consisting of NW FETs, without any large concern about the interface quality.Dans cette thèse, les propriétés électriques de transistors à nanofils de silicium liées à l'interface oxyde de grille/canal ont été étudiées par le biais de mesures de bruit basse fréquence (bruit 1/f) et de transport dans le canal. Ces transistors nanofils dont les dimensions ont été réduites jusqu'à quelques nanomètres pour la section, représentent une alternative sérieuse pour les futurs nœuds technologiques CMOS. Cependant, la qualité de l'interface oxyde de grille/canal pose question pour transistors dont l'architecture s'étend dans les 3 dimensions, en raison du fort rapport surface/volume inhérent à ces transistors, des différentes orientations cristallographiques de ces interfaces, ou encore des matériaux contraints utilisés pour améliorer les performances électriques. La compréhension des liens entre les propriétés de transport des porteurs dans le canal, qui garantissent en grande partie les performances électriques des transistors, et la qualité de l'interface avec l'oxyde de grille est fond primordiale pour optimiser les transistors nanofils. Les mesures de bruit, associées à l'étude du transport dans le canal, sont un outil puissant et adapté à ces dispositifs tridimensionnels, sans être limité par la taille ultra-réduite des transistors nanofils. Les transistors nanofils étudiés ont été fabriqués à partir de substrats minces SOI, et intègrent un empilement de grille HfSiON/TiN, qui permet de réduire les dimensions tout en conservant les mêmes propriétés électrostatiques. Pour gagner en performances, des contraintes mécaniques ont été introduites dans le canal en silicium : en tension pour les NMOS, par le biais de substrat contraint (sSOI), et en compression pour les PMOS. Un canal en compression uni-axiale peut être obtenu par l'intégration de source/drain en SiGe et/ou par l'utilisation de couches contraintes de type CESL. Des transistors à canal SiGe sur isolant en compression ont également été fabriqués et étudiés. Les caractéristiques électriques des divers transistors nanofils (courbes Id-Vg, compromis Ion-Ioff, mobilité des porteurs) démontrent l'excellent contrôle électrostatique dû à l'architecture 3D, ainsi que l'efficacité de l'ingénierie de contraintes dans les nanofils jusqu'à de faibles longueurs de grilles (~17nm). Des mesures de bruit basse fréquence ont été réalisées sur ces mêmes dispositifs et analysées en fonction des paramètres géométriques de l'architecture nanofils (largeur W, forme de la section, longueur de grille L), et des diverses variantes technologiques. Nous avons démontré que le bruit 1/f dans les transistors nanofils peut être décrit par le modèle de fluctuations du nombre de porteurs (CNF) corrélées aux fluctuations de mobilité (CMF). Le bruit associé aux régions S/D a pu également être intégré dans ce modèle en ajoutant une contribution, en particulier pour les PMOS. Alors que les différentes variantes technologiques ont peu d'effet sur le bruit 1/f, les variations de géométrie en L et W changent la composante de bruit liée aux fluctuations du nombre de porteurs (CNF) de manière inversement proportionnelle à la surface totale (~1/WL). Cette augmentation du bruit est le reflet du transport qui se produit à proximité des interfaces avec l'oxyde. Les différentes orientations des interfaces supérieures et latérales (110) ou (100) présentent la même quantité de pièges d'interface (extrait à partir des mesures de bruit 1/f, en séparant les contributions des différentes faces du nanofil) bien qu'ayant une rugosité différente essentiellement liée au process. En revanche la composante CMF n'est pas altérée par la réduction des dimensions contrairement à la mobilité des porteurs qui décroit fortement avec L. Finalement, les mesures de bruit 1/f ont été comparées aux spécifications ITRS 2013 pour les transistors multi-grilles en vue des futurs nœuds technologiques de la logique CMOS, et démontrent que nos transistors nanofils satisfont les exigences en la matière

Miniaturized Transistors, Volume II

In this book, we aim to address the ever-advancing progress in microelectronic device scaling. Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) devices continue to endure miniaturization, irrespective of the seeming physical limitations, helped by advancing fabrication techniques. We observe that miniaturization does not always refer to the latest technology node for digital transistors. Rather, by applying novel materials and device geometries, a significant reduction in the size of microelectronic devices for a broad set of applications can be achieved. The achievements made in the scaling of devices for applications beyond digital logic (e.g., high power, optoelectronics, and sensors) are taking the forefront in microelectronic miniaturization. Furthermore, all these achievements are assisted by improvements in the simulation and modeling of the involved materials and device structures. In particular, process and device technology computer-aided design (TCAD) has become indispensable in the design cycle of novel devices and technologies. It is our sincere hope that the results provided in this Special Issue prove useful to scientists and engineers who find themselves at the forefront of this rapidly evolving and broadening field. Now, more than ever, it is essential to look for solutions to find the next disrupting technologies which will allow for transistor miniaturization well beyond silicon’s physical limits and the current state-of-the-art. This requires a broad attack, including studies of novel and innovative designs as well as emerging materials which are becoming more application-specific than ever before

Determination of key device parameters for short- and long-channel Schottky-type carbon nanotube field-effect transistors

The Schottky barrier, contact resistance and carrier mobility in carbon nanotube (CNT) field-effect transistors (FETs) are discussed in detail in this thesis. Novel extraction methods and definitions are proposed for these parameters. A technology comparison with other emerging transistor technologies and a performance projection study are also presented. A Schottky barrier height extraction method for CNTFETs considering one-dimensional (1D) conditions is developed. The methodology is applied to simulation and experimental data of CNTFETs feasible for manufacturing. Y-function-based methods (YFMs) have been applied to simulation and experimental data in order to extract a contact resistance for CNTFETs. Both extraction methods are more efficient and accurate than other conventional approaches. Practical mobility expressions are derived for CNTFETs covering the ballistic as well as the non-ballistic transport regime which enable a straightforward evaluation of the transport in CNTs. They have been applied to simulation and experimental data of devices with different channel lengths and Schottky barrier heights. A comparison of fabricated emerging transistors based on similar criteria for various application scenarios reveals CNTFETs as promising candidates to compete with Si-based technologies in low-power static and dynamic applications. A performance projection study is suggested for specific applications in terms of the studied design parameters