Near-Zero-Power Temperature Sensing via Tunneling Currents Through Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Transistors.

Temperature sensors are routinely found in devices used to monitor the environment, the human body, industrial equipment, and beyond. In many such applications, the energy available from batteries or the power available from energy harvesters is extremely limited due to limited available volume, and thus the power consumption of sensing should be minimized in order to maximize operational lifetime. Here we present a new method to transduce and digitize temperature at very low power levels. Specifically, two pA current references are generated via small tunneling-current metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) that are independent and proportional to temperature, respectively, which are then used to charge digitally-controllable banks of metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors that, via a discrete-time feedback loop that equalizes charging time, digitize temperature directly. The proposed temperature sensor was integrated into a silicon microchip and occupied 0.15 mm2 of area. Four tested microchips were measured to consume only 113 pW with a resolution of 0.21 °C and an inaccuracy of ±1.65 °C, which represents a 628× reduction in power compared to prior-art without a significant reduction in performance

Electronic control circuits: A compilation

A compilation of technical R and D information on circuits and modular subassemblies is presented as a part of a technology utilization program. Fundamental design principles and applications are given. Electronic control circuits discussed include: anti-noise circuit; ground protection device for bioinstrumentation; temperature compensation for operational amplifiers; hybrid gatling capacitor; automatic signal range control; integrated clock-switching control; and precision voltage tolerance detector

A 0.35 μm CMOS 17-bit@40-kS/s cascade 2-1 ΣΔ modulator with programmable gain and programmable chopper stabilization

This paper describes a 0.35μm CMOS chopper-stabilized Switched-Capacitor 2-1 cascade ΣDelta; modulator for automotive sensor interfaces. For a better fitting to the characteristics of different sensor outputs, the modulator includes a programmable set of gains (x0.5, x1, x2, and x4) and a programmable set of chopper frequencies (fs/16, fs/8, fs/4 and fs/2). It has also been designed to operate within the restrictive environmental conditions of automotive electronics (-40°C, 175°C). The modulator architecture has been selected after an exhaustive comparison among multiple ΣΔM topologies in terms of resolution, speed and power dissipation. The design of the modulator building blocks is based upon a top-down CAD methodology which combines simulation and statistical optimization at different levels of the modulator hierarchy. The circuit is clocked at 5.12MHz and consumes, all together, 14.7mW from a single 3.3-V supply. Experimental measurements result in 99.77dB of Dynamic Range (DR), which combined with the gain programmability leads to an overall DR of 112dB. This puts the presented design beyond the state-of-the-art according with the existing bibliography

적층 나노시트 구조의 음의 정전용량 전계 효과 트랜지스터

학위논문(박사) -- 서울대학교대학원 : 공과대학 전기·정보공학부, 2022. 8. 최우영.The development of integrated circuit (IC) technology has continued to improve speed and capacity through miniaturization of devices. However, power density is increasing rapidly due to the increasing leakage current as miniaturization advances. Although the remarkable advancement of process technology has allowed complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology to consistently overcome its constraints, the physical limitations of the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) are unmanageable. Accordingly, research on logic device is being divided into a CMOS-extension and a beyond-CMOS. CMOS-extension focuses on the gate-all-around field-effect transistors (GAAFETs) which is a promising architecture for future CMOS thanks to the excellent electrostatic gate controllability. Particularly, nanosheet (NS) architecture with high current drivability required in ICs, is the most promising. However, NS GAAFET has a trade-off relation between the controllability and the drivability, which requires the necessity of a higher-level effective oxide thickness (EOT) scaling for further scaling of NS GAAFET. On the other hand, beyond-CMOS mainly focuses on developing devices with novel mechanisms to overcome the MOSFETs' physical limits. Among several candidates, negative capacitance field-effect transistors (NCFETs) with exceptional CMOS compatibility and current drivability are highlighted as future logic devices for low-power, high-performance operation. Although the NCFET utilizing the negative capacitance (NC) effect of a ferroelectric has been demonstrated theoretically by the Landau model, it is challenging to be implemented due to the fact that stabilized NC and sub-thermionic subthreshold swing (SS) are incompatible. In this dissertation, a GAA NCFET that maintains a stable capacitance boosting by NC effect and exhibits high performance is demonstrated. A ferroelectric-antiferroelectric mixed-phase hafnium-zirconium-oxide (HZO) thin film was introduced, whose effect was confirmed by capacitors and FET experiments. Furthermore, the mixed-phase HZO was demonstrated on a stacked nanosheet gate-all-around (stacked NS GAA) structure, the advanced CMOS technology, which exhibits a superior gate controllability as well as a satisfactory drivability for ICs. The hysteresis-free stable NC operation with the superior performance was confirmed in NS GAA NCFET. The improved SS and on-current (Ion) compared to MOSFETs fabricated in the same manner were validated, and its feasibility as a low-power, high-performance logic device was proven based on a variety of figure of merits.집적회로 기술의 발전은 소자의 소형화를 통한 속도 및 용량의 향상을 위해 발전을 거듭해왔다. 그러나 소형화를 거듭할수록 증가하는 누설전류의 문제로 전력 밀도가 급격하게 증가하고 있다. 상보형 금속-산화막-반도체(CMOS) 기술은 눈부신 공정기술의 성장에 힘입어 한계를 끊임없이 극복해왔으나, 기존의 금속-산화막-반도체 전계-효과-트랜지스터(MOSFET)의 물리적 한계는 극복할 수 없는 문제이다. 이에 따라 논리 반도체에 관한 연구는 CMOS를 연장하는 방향과 CMOS를 뛰어넘는 방향으로 나뉘어 진행되고 있다. CMOS를 연장하는 방향은 뛰어난 정전기적 게이트 장악력을 갖는 차세대 CMOS 구조로 유망한 게이트-올-어라운드 전계-효과-트랜지스터(GAAFET)에 관한 연구가 주를 이룬다. 특히 높은 전류 구동력을 가질 수 있는 나노시트(NS) 구조가 가장 유망한데, 게이트 장악력이 전류 구동력과 상충된다는 단점이 있다. 이에 따라 NS GAAFET 기술을 위해서는 더 높은 수준의 유효산화막두께 (EOT) 스케일링이 필수적이다. 한편, CMOS를 뛰어넘는 방향의 연구는 MOSFET의 물리적 한계를 극복하기 위해 새로운 메커니즘을 갖는 소자를 개발하는 방향으로 이루어진다. 다양한 후보군 중 CMOS 호환성과 전류 구동능력이 뛰어난 음의 정전용량 전계-효과-트랜지스터(NCFET)이 저전력, 고성능 동작을 위한 미래 CMOS 소자로 각광받고 있다. 강유전체의 음의 정전용량 (NC) 효과를 이용한 NCFET은 Landau 모델에 의해 이론적으로 증명되었으나, 열역학적으로 안정한 상태와 60 mV/dec 이하의 문턱전압-이하-기울기(SS)를 동시에 구현하기 불가능하다는 문제가 있다. 본 학위논문에서는 안정한 정전용량 향상 특성을 가지며 높은 성능을 갖는 NS GAA NCFET을 구현하였다. 강유전체(ferroelectric)-반강유전체(antiferroelectric) 혼합상(mixed-phase) 하프늄-지르코늄-옥사이드(HZO) 박막의 정전용량 향상 효과를 커패시터 및 FET 제작을 통해 효과를 검증하였다. 또한 높은 게이트 장악력을 가지며 집적회로에서 요구하는 전류 구동력을 만족시킬 수 있는 적층형 나노시트 게이트-올-어라운드(stacked NS GAA) 구조에 혼합상 NC 박막을 적용한 FET을 시연하고 성능의 우수성을 확인하였다. 동일하게 제작된 MOSFET 대비 향상된 SS와 구동 전류(Ion)를 확인하였고, 다양한 성능 지수를 토대로 저전력, 고성능 로직 소자로서의 타당성을 검증하였다.Abstract i Contents iv List of Table vii List of Figures viii Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Power and Area Scaling Challenges 1 1.2 Nanosheet Gate-All-Around FETs 5 1.2.1 Gate-All-Around FETs 5 1.2.2 Nanosheet GAAFETs 6 1.3 Negative Capacitance FETs 11 1.3.1 Negative Capacitance in Ferroelectric Materials 11 1.3.2 Negative Capacitance for Steep Switching Devices 14 1.3.3 Stable NC vs. Sub-thermionic SS 17 1.4 Scope and Organization of Dissertation 21 Chapter 2 Stacked NS GAA NCFET with Ferroelectric-Antiferroelectric-Mixed-Phase HZO 22 2.1 Mixed-Phase HZO for Capacitance Boosting 22 2.2 NS GAA NCFET using Mixed-Phase HZO 25 Chapter 3 HZO ALD Stack Optimization 28 3.1 Metal-Ferroelectric-Interlayer-Silicon (MFIS) / MFM Capacitors 29 3.1.1 Fabrication of MFIS Capacitors 29 3.1.2 Electrical Characteristics of MFIS / MFM Capacitors 33 3.2 SOI Planar NCFETs 38 3.2.1 DC Measurements 38 3.2.2 Direct Capacitance Measurements 47 3.2.3 Speed Measurements 49 Chapter 4 Device Fabrication of Stacked NS GAA NCFET 51 4.1 Initial Process Flow of NS GAA NCFET 52 4.2 Process Issues and Solution 56 4.2.1 External Resistance 56 4.2.2 TiN Gate Sidewall Spacer 60 4.2.3 Unintentionally Etched Sacrificial Layer 65 4.2.4 Discussions 68 4.3 Channel Release Process 69 4.3.1 Consideration in Channel Release Process 69 4.3.2 Methods for SiGe Selective Etching 72 4.3.3 SiGe Selective Etching using Carboxylic Acid Solution 75 4.4 Revised Process of NS GAA NCFET 78 Chapter 5 Electrical Characteristics of Fabricated NS GAA NCFET 84 5.1 DC Characteristics 85 5.1.1 NS GAA NCFET vs. Planar SOI NCFET 85 5.1.2 Performance Enhancement of NS GAA NCFET 88 5.1.3 Performance Evaluation 96 5.2 Operating Temperature Properties 99 Chapter 6 Conclusion 102 Bibliography 105 초 록 115박

Infrared detectors - Special interest bibliography with abstracts

Bibliography and abstracts of literature related to infrared detectors used in geoscience researc

Prediction and measurement of radiation damage to CMOS devices on board spacecraft

The CMOS Radiation Effects Measurement (CREM) experiment is presently being flown on the Explorer-55. The purpose of the experiment is to evaluate device performance in the actual space radiation environment and to correlate the respective measurements to on-the-ground laboratory irradiation results. The experiment contains an assembly of C-MOS and P-MOS devices shielded in front by flat slabs of aluminum and by a practically infinite shield in the back. Predictions of radiation damage to C-MOS devices are based on standard environment models and computational techniques. A comparison of the shifts in CMOS threshold potentials, that is, those measured in space to those obtained from the on-the-ground simulation experiment with Co-60, indicates that the measured space damage is smaller than predicted by about a factor of 2-3 for thin shields, but agrees well with predictions for thicker shields

Process techniques study of integrated circuits Final scientific report

Surface impurity and structural defect analysis on thermally grown silicon oxide integrated circui

Ultra-low power mixed-signal frontend for wearable EEGs

Electronics circuits are ubiquitous in daily life, aided by advancements in the chip design industry, leading to miniaturised solutions for typical day to day problems. One of the critical healthcare areas helped by this advancement in technology is electroencephalography (EEG). EEG is a non-invasive method of tracking a person's brain waves, and a crucial tool in several healthcare contexts, including epilepsy and sleep disorders. Current ambulatory EEG systems still suffer from limitations that affect their usability. Furthermore, many patients admitted to emergency departments (ED) for a neurological disorder like altered mental status or seizures, would remain undiagnosed hours to days after admission, which leads to an elevated rate of death compared to other conditions. Conducting a thorough EEG monitoring in early-stage could prevent further damage to the brain and avoid high mortality. But lack of portability and ease of access results in a long wait time for the prescribed patients. All real signals are analogue in nature, including brainwaves sensed by EEG systems. For converting the EEG signal into digital for further processing, a truly wearable EEG has to have an analogue mixed-signal front-end (AFE). This research aims to define the specifications for building a custom AFE for the EEG recording and use that to review the suitability of the architectures available in the literature. Another critical task is to provide new architectures that can meet the developed specifications for EEG monitoring and can be used in epilepsy diagnosis, sleep monitoring, drowsiness detection and depression study. The thesis starts with a preview on EEG technology and available methods of brainwaves recording. It further expands to design requirements for the AFE, with a discussion about critical issues that need resolving. Three new continuous-time capacitive feedback chopped amplifier designs are proposed. A novel calibration loop for setting the accurate value for a pseudo-resistor, which is a crucial block in the proposed topology, is also discussed. This pseudoresistor calibration loop achieved the resistor variation of under 8.25%. The thesis also presents a new design of a curvature corrected bandgap, as well as a novel DDA based fourth-order Sallen-Key filter. A modified sensor frontend architecture is then proposed, along with a detailed analysis of its implementation. Measurement results of the AFE are finally presented. The AFE consumed a total power of 3.2A (including ADC, amplifier, filter, and current generation circuitry) with the overall integrated input-referred noise of 0.87V-rms in the frequency band of 0.5-50Hz. Measurement results confirmed that only the proposed AFE achieved all defined specifications for the wearable EEG system with the smallest power consumption than state-of-art architectures that meet few but not all specifications. The AFE also achieved a CMRR of 131.62dB, which is higher than any studied architectures.Open Acces

InSb charge coupled infrared imaging device: The 20 element linear imager

The design and fabrication of the 8585 InSb charge coupled infrared imaging device (CCIRID) chip are reported. The InSb material characteristics are described along with mask and process modifications. Test results for the 2- and 20-element CCIRID's are discussed, including gate oxide characteristics, charge transfer efficiency, optical mode of operation, and development of the surface potential diagram