Intrinsic variability of nanoscale CMOS technology for logic and memory.

The continuous downscaling of CMOS technology, the main engine of development of the semiconductor Industry, is limited by factors that become important for nanoscale device size, which undermine proper device operation completely offset gains from scaling. One of the main problems is device variability: nominally identical devices are different at the microscopic level due to fabrication tolerance and the intrinsic granularity of matter. For this reason, structures, devices and materials for the next technology nodes will be chosen for their robustness to process variability, in agreement with the ITRS (International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors). Examining the dispersion of various physical and geometrical parameters and the effect these have on device performance becomes necessary. In this thesis, I focus on the study of the dispersion of the threshold voltage due to intrinsic variability in nanoscale CMOS technology for logic and for memory. In order to describe this, it is convenient to have an analytical model that allows, with the assistance of a small number of simulations, to calculate the standard deviation of the threshold voltage due to the various contributions

Simulation of intrinsic parameter fluctuations in decananometer and nanometer-scale MOSFETs

Intrinsic parameter fluctuations introduced by discreteness of charge and matter will play an increasingly important role when semiconductor devices are scaled to decananometer and nanometer dimensions in next-generation integrated circuits and systems. In this paper, we review the analytical and the numerical simulation techniques used to study and predict such intrinsic parameters fluctuations. We consider random discrete dopants, trapped charges, atomic-scale interface roughness, and line edge roughness as sources of intrinsic parameter fluctuations. The presented theoretical approach based on Green's functions is restricted to the case of random discrete charges. The numerical simulation approaches based on the drift diffusion approximation with density gradient quantum corrections covers all of the listed sources of fluctuations. The results show that the intrinsic fluctuations in conventional MOSFETs, and later in double gate architectures, will reach levels that will affect the yield and the functionality of the next generation analog and digital circuits unless appropriate changes to the design are made. The future challenges that have to be addressed in order to improve the accuracy and the predictive power of the intrinsic fluctuation simulations are also discussed

Impact of the technology boosters on the MOSFET performance

The understanding of the charge transport in nano-scale CMOS device is a very challenging issue that requires a physics-based modelling approach. I use a Multi Subband Monte Carlo simulation framework to assess the effects of some of the mostly used techniques to overcome the performances of the conventional ultra-scaled MOSFET

Devenlopment of Compact Small Signal Quasi Static Models for Multiple Gate Mosfets

En esta tesis hemos desarrollado los modelos compactos explícitos de carga y de capacitancia adaptados para los dispositivos dopados y no dopados de canal largo (DG MOSFETs dopados, DG MOSFETs no dopados, UTB MOSFETs no dopados y SGT no dopados) de un modelo unificado del control de carga derivado de la ecuación de Poisson. El esquema de modelado es similar en todos estos dispositivos y se adapta a cada geometría. Los modelos de la C.C. y de la carga son completamente compatibles. Las expresiones de la capacitancia se derivan del modelo de la carga. La corriente, la carga total y las capacitancias se escriben en términos de las densidades móviles de la carga en los extremos de fuente y drenador del canal. Las expresiones explícitas e infinitamente continuas se utilizan para las densidades móviles de la carga en la fuente y drenador. Las capacitancias modeladas demuestran el acuerdo excelente con las simulaciones numéricas 2D y 3D (SGT), en todos los regímenes de funcionamiento. Por lo tanto, el modelo es muy prometedor para ser utilizado en simuladores del circuito. Desafortunadamente, no mucho trabajo se ha dedicado a este dominio de modelado. Las cargas analíticas y las capacitancias, asociadas a cada terminal se prefieren en la simulación de circuito. Con respecto al SGT MOSFET, nuestro grupo fue el primero en desarrollar y publicar un modelo de las cargas y de las capacitancias intrínsecas, que es también analítico y explícito. La tesis es organizada como sigue: el capítulo (1) presenta el estado del arte, capítulo (2) el modelado compacto de los cuatro dispositivos: DG MOSFETs dopados, DG MOSFETs no dopados, UTB MOSFETs no dopados y SGT no dopados; en el capítulo (3) estudiamos las capacitancias de fricción en MuGFETs. Finalmente el capítulo (4) resuma el trabajo hecho y los futuros objetivos que necesitan ser estudiados. Debido a la limitación de los dispositivos optimizados disponibles para el análisis, la simulación numérica fue utilizada como la herramienta principal del análisis. Sin embargo, cuando estaban disponibles, medidas experimentales fueron utilizadas para validar nuestros resultados. Por ejemplo, en la sección 2A, en el caso de DG MOSFETs altamente dopados podríamos comparar nuestros resultados con datos experimentales de FinFETs modelados como DG MOSFETs. La ventaja principal de este trabajo es el carácter analítico y explícito del modelo de la carga y de la capacitancia que las hace fácil de implementar en simuladores de circuitos. El modelo presenta los resultados casi perfectos para diversos casos del dopaje y para diversas estructuras no clásicas del MOSFET (los DG MOSFETs, los UTB MOSFETs y los SGTs). La variedad de las estructuras del MOSFET en las cuales se ha incluido nuestro esquema de modelado y los resultados obtenidos, demuestran su validez absoluta. En el capítulo 3, investigamos la influencia de los parámetros geométricos en el funcionamiento en RF de los MuGFETs. Demostramos el impacto de parámetros geométricos importantes tales como el grosor de la fuente y del drenador o, el espaciamiento de las fins, la anchura del espaciador, etc. en el componente parásito de la capacitancia de fricción de los transistores de la múltiple-puerta (MuGFET). Los resultados destacan la ventaja de disminuir el espaciamiento entre las fins para MuGFETs y la compensación entre la reducción de las resistencias parásitas de fuente y drenador y el aumento de capacitancias de fricción cuando se introduce la tecnología del crecimiento selectivo epitaxial (SEG). La meta de nuestro estudio y trabajo es el uso de nuestros modelos en simuladores de circuitos. El grupo de profesor Aranda, de la Universidad de Granada ha puesto el modelo actual de SGT en ejecución en el simulador Agilent ADS y buenos resultados fueron obtenidos.In this thesis we have developed explicit compact charge and capacitance models adapted for doped and undoped long-channel devices (doped Double-Gate (DG) MOSFETs, undoped DG MOSFETs, undoped Ultra-Thin-Body (UTB) MOSFETs and undoped Surrounding Gate Transistor (SGT)) from a unified charge control model derived from Poisson's equation. The modelling scheme is similar in all these devices and is adapted to each geometry. The dc and charge models are fully compatible. The capacitance expressions are derived from the charge model. The current, total charges and capacitances are written in terms of the mobile charge sheet densities at the source and drain ends of the channel. Explicit and infinitely continuous expressions are used for the mobile charge sheet densities at source and drain. As a result, all small signal parameters will have an infinite order of continuity. The modeled capacitances show excellent agreement with the 2D and 3D (SGT) numerical simulations, in all operating regimes. Therefore, the model is very promising for being used in circuit simulators. Unfortunately, not so much work has been dedicated to this modelling domain. Analytical charges and capacitances, associated with each terminal are preferred in circuit simulation. Regarding the surrounding-gate MOSFET, our group was the first to develop and publish a model of the charges and intrinsic capacitances, which is also analytic and explicit. The thesis is organized as follows: Chapter (1) presents the state of the art, Chapter (2) the compact modeling of the four devices: doped DG MOSFETs, undoped DG MOSFETs, undoped UTB MOSFETs and undoped SGT; in Chapter (3) we study the fringing capacitances in MuGFETs. Finally Chapter (4) summarizes the work done and the future points that need to be studied. Due to the limitation of available optimized devices for analysis, numerical simulation was used as the main analysis tool. However, when available, measurements were used to validate our results. The experimental part was realised at the Microelectronics Laboratory, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la Neuve, Belgium. For example, in section 2A, in the case of highly-doped DG MOSFETs we could compare our results with experimental data from FinFETs modeled as DG MOSFETs. The main advantage of this work is the analytical and explicit character of the charge and capacitance model that makes it easy to implement in circuit simulators. The model presents almost perfect results for different cases of doping (doped/undoped devices) and for different non classical MOSFET structures (DG MOSFET, UTB MOSFETs and SGT). The variety of the MOSFET structures in which our modeling scheme has been included and the obtained results, demonstrate its absolute validity. In chapter 3, we investigate the influence of geometrical parameters on the RF performance in MuGFETs. We show the impact of important geometrical parameters such as source and drain thickness, fin spacing, spacer width, etc. on the parasitic fringing capacitance component of multiple-gate field-effect transistors (MuGFET). Results highlight the advantage of diminishing the spacing between fins for MuGFETs and the trade-off between the reduction of parasitic source and drain resistances and the increase of fringing capacitances when Selective Epitaxial Growth (SEG) technology is introduced. The goal of our study and work is the usage of our models in circuit simulators. This part, of implementing and testing our models of these multi gate MOSFET devices in circuit simulators has already begun. The group of Professor Aranda, from the University of Granada has implemented the SGT current model in the circuit simulator Agilent ADS and good results were obtained

Simulation study of scaling design, performance characterization, statistical variability and reliability of decananometer MOSFETs

This thesis describes a comprehensive, simulation based scaling study – including device design, performance characterization, and the impact of statistical variability – on deca-nanometer bulk MOSFETs. After careful calibration of fabrication processes and electrical characteristics for n- and p-MOSFETs with 35 nm physical gate length, 1 nm EOT and stress engineering, the simulated devices closely match the performance of contemporary 45 nm CMOS technologies. Scaling to 25 nm, 18 nm and 13 nm gate length n and p devices follows generalized scaling rules, augmented by physically realistic constraints and the introduction of high-k/metal-gate stacks. The scaled devices attain the performance stipulated by the ITRS. Device a.c. performance is analyzed, at device and circuit level. Extrinsic parasitics become critical to nano-CMOS device performance. The thesis describes device capacitance components, analyzes the CMOS inverter, and obtains new insights into the inverter propagation delay in nano-CMOS. The projection of a.c. performance of scaled devices is obtained. The statistical variability of electrical characteristics, due to intrinsic parameter fluctuation sources, in contemporary and scaled decananometer MOSFETs is systematically investigated for the first time. The statistical variability sources: random discrete dopants, gate line edge roughness and poly-silicon granularity are simulated, in combination, in an ensemble of microscopically different devices. An increasing trend in the standard deviation of the threshold voltage as a function of scaling is observed. The introduction of high-k/metal gates improves electrostatic integrity and slows this trend. Statistical evaluations of variability in Ion and Ioff as a function of scaling are also performed. For the first time, the impact of strain on statistical variability is studied. Gate line edge roughness results in areas of local channel shortening, accompanied by locally increased strain, both effects increasing the local current. Variations are observed in both the drive current, and in the drive current enhancement normally expected from the application of strain. In addition, the effects of shallow trench isolation (STI) on MOSFET performance and on its statistical variability are investigated for the first time. The inverse-narrow-width effect of STI enhances the current density adjacent to it. This leads to a local enhancement of the influence of junction shapes adjacent to the STI. There is also a statistical impact on the threshold voltage due to random STI induced traps at the silicon/oxide interface

Compact Models for Integrated Circuit Design

This modern treatise on compact models for circuit computer-aided design (CAD) presents industry standard models for bipolar-junction transistors (BJTs), metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) field-effect-transistors (FETs), FinFETs, and tunnel field-effect transistors (TFETs), along with statistical MOS models. Featuring exercise problems at the end of each chapter and extensive references at the end of the book, the text supplies fundamental and practical knowledge necessary for efficient integrated circuit (IC) design using nanoscale devices. It ensures even those unfamiliar with semiconductor physics gain a solid grasp of compact modeling concepts

ナノスケール集積デバイスのモンテカルロシミュレータの開発

博士（工学）神戸大

Simulation of charge-trapping in nano-scale MOSFETs in the presence of random-dopants-induced variability

The growing variability of electrical characteristics is a major issue associated with continuous downscaling of contemporary bulk MOSFETs. In addition, the operating conditions brought about by these same scaling trends have pushed MOSFET degradation mechanisms such as Bias Temperature Instability (BTI) to the forefront as a critical reliability threat. This thesis investigates the impact of this ageing phenomena, in conjunction with device variability, on key MOSFET electrical parameters. A three-dimensional drift-diffusion approximation is adopted as the simulation approach in this work, with random dopant fluctuations—the dominant source of statistical variability—included in the simulations. The testbed device is a realistic 35 nm physical gate length n-channel conventional bulk MOSFET. 1000 microscopically different implementations of the transistor are simulated and subjected to charge-trapping at the oxide interface. The statistical simulations reveal relatively rare but very large threshold voltage shifts, with magnitudes over 3 times than that predicted by the conventional theoretical approach. The physical origin of this effect is investigated in terms of the electrostatic influences of the random dopants and trapped charges on the channel electron concentration. Simulations with progressively increased trapped charge densities—emulating the characteristic condition of BTI degradation—result in further variability of the threshold voltage distribution. Weak correlations of the order of 10-2 are found between the pre-degradation threshold voltage and post-degradation threshold voltage shift distributions. The importance of accounting for random dopant fluctuations in the simulations is emphasised in order to obtain qualitative agreement between simulation results and published experimental measurements. Finally, the information gained from these device-level physical simulations is integrated into statistical compact models, making the information available to circuit designers

Variability analysis of FinFET AC/RF performances through efficient physics-based simulations for the optimization of RF CMOS stages

A nearly insatiable appetite for the latest electronic device enables the electronic technology sector to maintain research momentum. The necessity for advancement with miniaturization of electronic devices is the need of the day. Aggressive downscaling of electronic devices face some fundamental limits and thus, buoy up the change in device geometry. MOSFETs have been the leading contender in the electronics industry for years, but the dire need for miniaturization is forcing MOSFET to be scaled to nano-scale and in sub-50 nm scale. Short channel effects (SCE) become dominant and adversely affect the performance of the MOSFET. So, the need for a novel structure was felt to suppress SCE to an acceptable level. Among the proposed devices, FinFETs (Fin Field Effect Transistors) were found to be most effective to counter-act SCE in electronic devices. Today, many industries are working on electronic circuits with FinFETs as their primary element.One of limitation which FinFET faces is device variability. The purpose of this work was to study the effect that different sources of parameter fluctuations have on the behavior and characteristics of FinFETs. With deep literature review, we have gained insight into key sources of variability. Different sources of variations, like random dopant fluctuation, line edge roughness, fin variations, workfunction variations, oxide thickness variation, and source/drain doping variations, were studied and their impact on the performance of the device was studied as well. The adverse effect of these variations fosters the great amount of research towards variability modeling. A proper modeling of these variations is required to address the device performance metric before the fabrication of any new generation of the device on the commercial scale. The conventional methods to address the characteristics of a device under variability are Monte-Carlo-like techniques. In Monte Carlo analysis, all process parameters can be varied individually or simultaneously in a more realistic approach. The Monte Carlo algorithm takes a random value within the range of each process parameter and performs circuit simulations repeatedly. The statistical characteristics are estimated from the responses. This technique is accurate but requires high computational resources and time. Thus, efforts are being put by different research groups to find alternative tools. If the variations are small, Green’s Function (GF) approach can be seen as a breakthrough methodology. One of the most open research fields regards "Variability of FinFET AC performances". One reason for the limited AC variability investigations is the lack of commercially available efficient simulation tools, especially those based on accurate physics-based analysis: in fact, the only way to perform AC variability analysis through commercial TCAD tools like Synopsys Sentaurus is through the so-called Monte Carlo approach, that when variations are deterministic, is more properly referred to as incremental analysis, i.e., repeated solutions of the device model with varying physical parameters. For each selected parameter, the model must be solved first in DC operating condition (working point, WP) and then linearized around the WP, hence increasing severely the simulation time. In this work, instead, we used GF approach, using our in-house Simulator "POLITO", to perform AC variability analysis, provided that variations are small, alleviating the requirement of double linearization and reducing the simulation time significantly with a slight trade-off in accuracy. Using this tool we have, for the first time addressed the dependency of FinFET AC parameters on the most relevant process variations, opening the way to its application to RF circuits. This work is ultimately dedicated to the successful implementation of RF stages in commercial applications by incorporating variability effects and controlling the degradation of AC parameters due to variability. We exploited the POLITO (in-house simulator) limited to 2D structures, but this work can be extended to the variability analysis of 3D FinFET structure. Also variability analysis of III-V Group structures can be addressed. There is also potentiality to carry out the sensitivity analysis for the other source of variations, e.g., thermal variations

A statistical study of time dependent reliability degradation of nanoscale MOSFET devices

Charge trapping at the channel interface is a fundamental issue that adversely affects the reliability of metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) devices. This effect represents a new source of statistical variability as these devices enter the nano-scale era. Recently, charge trapping has been identified as the dominant phenomenon leading to both random telegraph noise (RTN) and bias temperature instabilities (BTI). Thus, understanding the interplay between reliability and statistical variability in scaled transistors is essential to the implementation of a ‘reliability-aware’ complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuit design. In order to investigate statistical reliability issues, a methodology based on a simulation flow has been developed in this thesis that allows a comprehensive and multi-scale study of charge-trapping phenomena and their impact on transistor and circuit performance. The proposed methodology is accomplished by using the Gold Standard Simulations (GSS) technology computer-aided design (TCAD)-based design tool chain co-optimization (DTCO) tool chain. The 70 nm bulk IMEC MOSFET and the 22 nm Intel fin-shape field effect transistor (FinFET) have been selected as targeted devices. The simulation flow starts by calibrating the device TCAD simulation decks against experimental measurements. This initial phase allows the identification of the physical structure and the doping distributions in the vertical and lateral directions based on the modulation in the inversion layer’s depth as well as the modulation of short channel effects. The calibration is further refined by taking into account statistical variability to match the statistical distributions of the transistors’ figures of merit obtained by measurements. The TCAD simulation investigation of RTN and BTI phenomena is then carried out in the presence of several sources of statistical variability. The study extends further to circuit simulation level by extracting compact models from the statistical TCAD simulation results. These compact models are collected in libraries, which are then utilised to investigate the impact of the BTI phenomenon, and its interaction with statistical variability, in a six transistor-static random access memory (6T-SRAM) cell. At the circuit level figures of merit, such as the static noise margin (SNM), and their statistical distributions are evaluated. The focus of this thesis is to highlight the importance of accounting for the interaction between statistical variability and statistical reliability in the simulation of advanced CMOS devices and circuits, in order to maintain predictivity and obtain a quantitative agreement with a measured data. The main findings of this thesis can be summarised by the following points: Based on the analysis of the results, the dispersions of VT and ΔVT indicate that a change in device technology must be considered, from the planar MOSFET platform to a new device architecture such as FinFET or SOI. This result is due to the interplay between a single trap charge and statistical variability, which has a significant impact on device operation and intrinsic parameters as transistor dimensions shrink further. The ageing process of transistors can be captured by using the trapped charge density at the interface and observing the VT shift. Moreover, using statistical analysis one can highlight the extreme transistors and their probable effect on the circuit or system operation. The influence of the passgate (PG) transistor in a 6T-SRAM cell gives a different trend of the mean static noise margin