Gate-All-Around FETs: Nanowire and Nanosheet Structure

DC/AC performances of 3-nm-node gate-all-around (GAA) FETs having different widths and the number of channels (Nch) from 1 to 5 were investigated thoroughly using fully-calibrated TCAD. There are two types of GAAFETs: nanowire (NW) FETs having the same width (WNW) and thickness of the channels, and nanosheet (NS) FETs having wide width (WNS) but the fixed thickness of the channels as 5 nm. Compared to FinFETs, GAAFETs can maintain good short channel characteristics as the WNW is smaller than 9 nm but irrespective of the WNS. DC performances of the GAAFETs improve as the Nch increases but at decreasing rate because of the parasitic resistances at the source/drain epi. On the other hand, gate capacitances of the GAAFETs increase constantly as the Nch increases. Therefore, the GAAFETs have minimum RC delay at the Nch near 3. For low power applications, NWFETs outperform FinFETs and NSFETs due to their excellent short channel characteristics by 2-D structural confinement. For standard and high performance applications, NSFETs outperform FinFETs and NWFETs by showing superior DC performances arising from larger effective widths per footprint. Overall, GAAFETs are great candidates to substitute FinFETs in the 3-nm technology node for all the applications

Radio Frequency InGaAs MOSFETs

III-V-based Indium gallium arsenide is a promising channel material for high-frequency applications due to its superior electron mobility property. In this thesis, InGaAs/InP heterostructure radio frequency MOSFETs are designed, fabricated, and characterized. Various spacer technologies, from high dielectric spacers to air spacers, are implemented to reduce parasitic capacitances, and fT/fmax are evaluated. Three types of RF MOSFETs with different spacer technologies are fabricated in this work.InP ∧-ridge spacers are integrated on InGaAs Nanowire MOSFET in an attempt to decrease parasitic capacitances; however, due to a high-dielectric constant of the spacers and smaller transistors transconductance, the fT/fmax are limited to 75/100 GHz. InGaAs quantum well MOSFETs with a sacrificial amorphous silicon spacer are fabricated, and they have capacitances of a similar magnitude to other existing high-performing RF InGaAs FETs. An 80 nm InGaAs MOSFET has fT/fmax = 243/147 GHz is demonstrated, and further optimization of the channel and layout would improve the performance. Next, InGaAs MOSFETs with nitride spacer are fabricated in a top-down approach, where the heterostructure is designed to reduce contact resistance and thus improve transconductance. In the first attempt, from the electrical characterization, it is concluded that the ON resistance of these MOSFETs is comparable to state-of-the-art HEMTs. Complete non-quasi-static small-signal modeling is performed on these transistors, and the discrepancy in the magnitude of fmax is discussed. InGaAs/InP 3D-nanosheet/nanowire FETs' high-frequency performance is studied by combining intrinsic analytical and extrinsic numerical models to estimate fT/fmax. 3D vertical stacking results in smaller parasitic capacitances due to electric field perturbance because of screening.An 8-band k⋅p model is implemented to calculate the electronic parameters of strained InxGa1-xAs/InP heterostructure-based quantum wells and nanowires. Bandgap, conduction band energy levels, and their effective masses and non-parabolicity factors are studied for various indium compositions and channel dimensions. These calculated parameters are used to model the long channel quantum well InGaAs MOSFET at cryogenic temperatures, and the importance of band tails limiting the subthreshold slope is discussed

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

Function Implementation in a Multi-Gate Junctionless FET Structure

Title from PDF of title page, viewed September 18, 2023Dissertation advisor: Mostafizur RahmanVitaIncludes bibliographical references (pages 95-117)Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, Department of Physics and Astronomy. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2023This dissertation explores designing and implementing a multi-gate junctionless field-effect transistor (JLFET) structure and its potential applications beyond conventional devices. The JLFET is a promising alternative to conventional transistors due to its simplified fabrication process and improved electrical characteristics. However, previous research has focused primarily on the device's performance at the individual transistor level, neglecting its potential for implementing complex functions. This dissertation fills this research gap by investigating the function implementation capabilities of the JLFET structure and proposing novel circuit designs based on this technology. The first part of this dissertation presents a comprehensive review of the existing literature on JLFETs, including their fabrication techniques, operating principles, and performance metrics. It highlights the advantages of JLFETs over traditional metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) and discusses the challenges associated with their implementation. Additionally, the review explores the limitations of conventional transistor technologies, emphasizing the need for exploring alternative device architectures. Building upon the theoretical foundation, the dissertation presents a detailed analysis of the multi-gate JLFET structure and its potential for realizing advanced functions. The study explores the impact of different design parameters, such as channel length, gate oxide thickness, and doping profiles, on the device performance. It investigates the trade-offs between power consumption, speed, and noise immunity, and proposes design guidelines for optimizing the function implementation capabilities of the JLFET. To demonstrate the practical applicability of the JLFET structure, this dissertation introduces several novel circuit designs based on this technology. These designs leverage the unique characteristics of the JLFET, such as its steep subthreshold slope and improved on/off current ratio, to implement complex functions efficiently. The proposed circuits include arithmetic units, memory cells, and digital logic gates. Detailed simulations and analyses are conducted to evaluate their performance, power consumption, and scalability. Furthermore, this dissertation explores the potential of the JLFET structure for emerging technologies, such as neuromorphic computing and bioelectronics. It investigates how the JLFET can be employed to realize energy-efficient and biocompatible devices for applications in artificial intelligence and biomedical engineering. The study investigates the compatibility of the JLFET with various materials and substrates, as well as its integration with other functional components. In conclusion, this dissertation contributes to the field of nanoelectronics by providing a comprehensive investigation into the function implementation capabilities of the multi-gate JLFET structure. It highlights the potential of this device beyond its individual transistor performance and proposes novel circuit designs based on this technology. The findings of this research pave the way for the development of advanced electronic systems that are more energy-efficient, faster, and compatible with emerging applications in diverse fields.Introduction -- Literature review -- Crosstalk principle -- Experiment of crosstalk -- Device architecture -- Simulation & results -- Conclusio

Nanofabrication of chemically modified surfaces for large area molecular electronic devices.

Current silicon-based technology presents significant drawbacks from a technological and economical point of view. Therefore, molecular electronics is presented as a supporting tool; based on the use of organic or organometallic molecules as basic elements nanoelectronics. This Final Master Thesis aims at the formation of monolayers of a suitably functionalized organic compound, trough the transference of monolayers formed at the air water interface onto solid substrates and how the pH of the subphase can influence on the formation of them, as well as for the study of the surface behaviour of it.The formation of the monolayers has been carried out using the Langmuir-Blodgett technique and subsequently the films have been characterized both at the air-water interface (Langmuir films) and on the surface of a substrate (Langmuir-Blodgett films) by using a set of techniques such as surface pressure isotherms versus area per molecule, surface potential isotherms versus area per molecule, Brewster angle microscopy (BAM), UV-Vis reflection spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry (CV) or quartz crystal microbalance (QCM).<br /

Silicon Nanodevices

This book is a collection of scientific articles which brings research in Si nanodevices, device processing, and materials. The content is oriented to optoelectronics with a core in electronics and photonics. The issue of current technology developments in the nanodevices towards 3D integration and an emerging of the electronics and photonics as an ultimate goal in nanotechnology in the future is presented. The book contains a few review articles to update the knowledge in Si-based devices and followed by processing of advanced nano-scale transistors. Furthermore, material growth and manufacturing of several types of devices are presented. The subjects are carefully chosen to critically cover the scientific issues for scientists and doctoral students

Low-frequency noise in downscaled silicon transistors: Trends, theory and practice

By the continuing downscaling of sub-micron transistors in the range of few to one deca-nanometers, we focus on the increasing relative level of the low-frequency noise in these devices. Large amount of published data and models are reviewed and summarized, in order to capture the state-of-the-art, and to observe that the 1/area scaling of low-frequency noise holds even for carbon nanotube devices, but the noise becomes too large in order to have fully deterministic devices with area less than 10nm×10nm. The low-frequency noise models are discussed from the point of view that the noise can be both intrinsic and coupled to the charge transport in the devices, which provided a coherent picture, and more interestingly, showed that the models converge each to other, despite the many issues that one can find for the physical origin of each model. Several derivations are made to explain crossovers in noise spectra, variable random telegraph amplitudes, duality between energy and distance of charge traps, behaviors and trends for figures of merit by device downscaling, practical constraints for micropower amplifiers and dependence of phase noise on the harmonics in the oscillation signal, uncertainty and techniques of averaging by noise characterization. We have also shown how the unavoidable statistical variations by fabrication is embedded in the devices as a spatial “frozen noise”, which also follows 1/area scaling law and limits the production yield, from one side, and from other side, the “frozen noise” contributes generically to temporal 1/f noise by randomly probing the embedded variations during device operation, owing to the purely statistical accumulation of variance that follows from cause-consequence principle, and irrespectively of the actual physical process. The accumulation of variance is known as statistics of “innovation variance”, which explains the nearly log-normal distributions in the values for low-frequency noise parameters gathered from different devices, bias and other conditions, thus, the origin of geometric averaging in low-frequency noise characterizations. At present, the many models generally coincide each with other, and what makes the difference, are the values, which, however, scatter prominently in nanodevices. Perhaps, one should make some changes in the approach to the low-frequency noise in electronic devices, to emphasize the “statistics behind the numbers”, because the general physical assumptions in each model always fail at some point by the device downscaling, but irrespectively of that, the statistics works, since the low-frequency noise scales consistently with the 1/area law

Electrical Characterisation of III-V Nanowire MOSFETs

The ever increasing demand for faster and more energy-efficient electricalcomputation and communication presents severe challenges for the semiconductor industry and particularly for the metal-oxidesemiconductorfield-effect transistor (MOSFET), which is the workhorse of modern electronics. III-V materials exhibit higher carrier mobilities than the most commonly used MOSFET material Si so that the realisation of III-V MOSFETs can enable higher operation speeds and lower drive voltages than that which is possible in Si electronics. A lowering of the transistor drive voltage can be further facilitated by employing gate-all-around nanowire geometries or novel operation principles. However, III-V materials bring about their own challenges related to material quality and to the quality of the gate oxide on top of a III-V MOSFET channel.This thesis presents detailed electrical characterisations of two types of (vertical) III-V nanowire transistors: MOSFETs based on conventional thermionic emission; and Tunnel FETs, which utilise quantum-mechanical tunnelling instead to control the device current and reach inverse subthreshold slopes below the thermal limit of 60 mV/decade. Transistor characterisations span over fourteen orders of magnitude in frequency/time constants and temperatures from 11 K to 370 K.The first part of the thesis focusses on the characterisation of electrically active material defects (‘traps’) related to the gate stack. Low-frequency noise measurements yielded border trap densities of 10^18 to 10^20 cm^-3 eV^-1 and hysteresis measurements yielded effective trap densities – projected to theoxide/semiconductor interface – of 2x10^12 to 3x10^13 cm^-2 eV^-1. Random telegraph noise measurements revealed that individual oxide traps can locally shift the channel energy bands by a few millielectronvolts and that such defects can be located at energies from inside the semiconductor band gap all the way into the conduction band.Small-signal radio frequency (RF) measurements revealed that parts of the wide oxide trap distribution can still interact with carriers in the MOSFET channel at gigahertz frequencies. This causes frequency hystereses in the small-signal transconductance and capacitances and can decrease the RF gains by a few decibels. A comprehensive small-signal model was developed, which takes into account these dispersions, and the model was applied to guide improvements of the physical structure of vertical RF MOSFETs. This resulted in values for the cutoff frequency fT and the maximum oscillation frequency fmax of about 150 GHz in vertical III-V nanowire MOSFETs.Bias temperature instability measurements and the integration of (lateral) III-V nanowire MOSFETs in a back end of line process were carried out as complements to the main focus of this thesis. The results of this thesis provide a broad perspective of the properties of gate oxide traps and of the RF performance of III-V nanowire transistors and can act as guidelines for further improvement and finally the integration of III-V nanowire MOSFETs in circuits

Comprehensive Analysis of Source and Drain Recess Depth Variations on Silicon Nanosheet FETs for Sub 5-nm Node SoC Application

Excess source and drain (S/D) recess depth (T-SD) variations were analyzed comprehensively as one of the most critical factors to DC/AC performances of sub 5-nm node Si-Nanosheet (NS) FETs for system-on-chip (SoC) applications. Variations of off-, on-state currents (I-off, I-on) in three-stacked NS channels and parasitic bottom transistor (tr(pbt)), gate capacitance (C-gg), intrinsic switching delay time (tau(d)), and static power dissipation (P-static) are investigated quantitatively according to the T-SD variations. More S/D dopants diffuse into the tr(pbt) with the deeper T-SD, so the I-off and I-on increase due to raised current flowing through the tr(pbt). Especially, the I-off of PFETs remarkably increases above the certain T-SD (T-SD;critical) compared to NFETs. Furthermore, the I-on contribution of each channels having the T-SD;critical is the largest at the top NS channel and the tr(pbt) has the ignorable I-on contribution. Among the NS channels, the top (bottom) NS channel has the largest (smallest) Ion contribution due to its larger (smaller) carrier density and velocity for both P-/NFETs. The C-gg also increases with the deeper T-SD by increasing parasitic capacitance, but fortunately, the tau(d) decreases simultaneously due to the larger increasing rate of the I-on than that of the C-gg for all SoC applications. However, the P-static enormously increases with the deeper T-SD, and low power application is the most sensitive to the TSD variations among the SoC applications. Comprehensive analysis of the inevitable tr(pbt) effects on DC/AC performances is one of the most critical indicators whether Si-NSFETs could be adopted to the sub 5-nm node CMOS technology.11Ysciescopu