Two dimensional quantum and reliability modelling for lightly doped nanoscale devices

The downscaling of MOSFET devices leads to well-studied short channel effects and more complex quantum mechanical effects. Both quantum and short channel effects not only alter the performance but they also affect the reliability. This continued scaling of the MOS device gate length puts a demand on the reduction of the gate oxide thickness and the substrate doping density. Quantum mechanical effects give rise to the quantization of energy in the conduction band, which consequently creates a larger effective bandgap and brings a displacement of the inversion layer charge out of the Si/SiO2 interface. Such a displacement of charge is equivalent to an increase in the effective oxide layer thickness, a growth in the threshold voltage, and a decrease in the current level. Therefore, using the classical analysis approach without including the quantum effects may lead to perceptible errors in the prognosis of the performance of modern deep submicron devices. In this work, compact Verilog-A compatible 2D models including quantum short channel effects and confinement for the potential, threshold voltage, and the carrier charge sheet density for symmetrical lightly doped double-gate MOSFETs are developed. The proposed models are not only applicable to ultra-scaled devices but they have also been derived from analytical 2D Poisson and 1D Schrodinger equations including 2D electrostatics, in order to incorporate quantum mechanical effects. Electron and hole quasi-Fermi potential effects were considered. The models were further enhanced to include negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) in order to assess the reliability of the device. NBTI effects incorporated into the models constitute interface state generation and hole-trapping. The models are continuous and have been verified by comparison with COMSOL and BALMOS numerical simulations for channel lengths down to 7nm; very good agreement within ±5% has been observed for silicon thicknesses ranging from 3nm to 20nm at 1 GHz operation after 10 years

Statistical modelling of nano CMOS transistors with surface potential compact model PSP

The development of a statistical compact model strategy for nano-scale CMOS transistors is presented in this thesis. Statistical variability which arises from the discreteness of charge and granularity of matter plays an important role in scaling of nano CMOS transistors especially in sub 50nm technology nodes. In order to achieve reasonable performance and yield in contemporary CMOS designs, the statistical variability that affects the circuit/system performance and yield must be accurately represented by the industry standard compact models. As a starting point, predictive 3D simulation of an ensemble of 1000 microscopically different 35nm gate length transistors is carried out to characterize the impact of statistical variability on the device characteristics. PSP, an advanced surface potential compact model that is selected as the next generation industry standard compact model, is targeted in this study. There are two challenges in development of a statistical compact model strategy. The first challenge is related to the selection of a small subset of statistical compact model parameters from the large number of compact model parameters. We propose a strategy to select 7 parameters from PSP to capture the impact of statistical variability on current-voltage characteristics. These 7 parameters are used in statistical parameter extraction with an average RMS error of less than 2.5% crossing the whole operation region of the simulated transistors. Moreover, the accuracy of statistical compact model extraction strategy in reproducing the MOSFET electrical figures of merit is studied in detail. The results of the statistical compact model extraction are used for statistical circuit simulation of a CMOS inverter under different input-output conditions and different number of statistical parameters. The second challenge in the development of statistical compact model strategy is associated with statistical generation of parameters preserving the distribution and correlation of the directly extracted parameters. By using advanced statistical methods such as principal component analysis and nonlinear power method, the accuracy of parameter generation is evaluated and compared to directly extracted parameter sets. Finally, an extension of the PSP statistical compact model strategy to different channel width/length devices is presented. The statistical trends of parameters and figures of merit versus channel width/length are characterized

3D drift diffusion and 3D Monte Carlo simulation of on-current variability due to random dopants

In this work Random Discrete Dopant induced on-current variations have been studied using the Glasgow 3D atomistic drift/diffusion simulator and Monte Carlo simulations. A methodology for incorporating quantum corrections into self-consistent atomistic Monte Carlo simulations via the density gradient effective potential is presented. Quantum corrections based on the density gradient formalism are used to simultaneously capture quantum confinement effects. The quantum corrections not only capture charge confinement effects, but accurately represent the electron impurity interaction used in previous \textit{ab initio} atomistic MC simulations, showing agreement with bulk mobility simulation. The effect of quantum corrected transport variation in statistical atomistic MC simulation is then investigated using a series of realistic scaled devices nMOSFETs transistors with channel lengths 35 nm, 25 nm, 18nm, 13 nm and 9 nm. Such simulations result in an increased drain current variability when compared with drift diffusion simulation. The comprehensive statistical analysis of drain current variations is presented separately for each scaled transistor. The investigation has shown increased current variation compared with quantum corrected drift diffusion simulation and with previous classical MC results. Furthermore, it has been studied consistently the impact of transport variability due to scattering from random discrete dopants on the on-current variability in realistic nano CMOS transistors. For the first time, a hierarchic simulation strategy to accurately transfer the increased on-current variability obtained from the ‘ab initio’ MC simulations to DD simulations is subsequently presented. The MC corrected DD simulations are used to produce target $I_D-V_G$ characteristics from which statistical compact models are extracted for use in preliminary design kits at the early stage of new technology development. The impact of transport variability on the accuracy of delay simulation are investigated in detail. Accurate compact models extraction methodology transferring results from accurate physical variability simulation into statistical compact models suitable for statistical circuit simulation is presented. In order to examine te size of this effect on circuits Monte Carlo SPICE simulations of inverter were carried out for 100 samples

Mathematical modeling and numerical simulation of innovative electronic nanostructures

Dans cette thèse, nous nous intéressons à la modélisation et la simulation de dispositifs nanoélectroniques innovants. Premièrement, nous dérivons formellement un modèle avec masse effective pour décrire le transport quantique des électrons dans des nanostructures très fortement confinées. Des simulations numériques illustrent l'intérêt du modèle obtenu pour un dispositif simplifié mais déjà significatif. La deuxième partie est consacrée à l'étude du transport non ballistique dans ces mêmes structures confinées. Nous analysons rigoureusement un modèle de drift-diffusion et puis nous décrivons et implémentons une approche de couplage spatial classique-quantique. Enfin, nous modélisons et simulons un nanodispositif de spintronique. Plus précisement, nous étudions le renversement d'aimantation dans un matériau ferromagnétique multi-couches sous l'effet d'un courant de spin.In this PhD thesis, we are interested in the modeling and the simulation of innovative electronic nanodevices. First, we formally derive an effective mass model describing the quantum motion of electrons in ultra-scaled confined nanostructures. Numerical simulations aim at testing the relevance of the obtained model for a simplified (but already significant) device. The second part is devoted to non-ballistic transport in these confined nanostructures. We rigorously analyse a drift-diffusion model and afterwards we describe and implement a classical-quantum spatial coupling approach. In the last part, we model and simulate a spintronic nanodevice. More precisely, we study the magnetization switching of a ferromagnetic material driven by a spin-current

Two-Dimensional Electronics - Prospects and Challenges

During the past 10 years, two-dimensional materials have found incredible attention in the scientific community. The first two-dimensional material studied in detail was graphene, and many groups explored its potential for electronic applications. Meanwhile, researchers have extended their work to two-dimensional materials beyond graphene. At present, several hundred of these materials are known and part of them is considered to be useful for electronic applications. Rapid progress has been made in research concerning two-dimensional electronics, and a variety of transistors of different two-dimensional materials, including graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides, e.g., MoS2 and WS2, and phosphorene, have been reported. Other areas where two-dimensional materials are considered promising are sensors, transparent electrodes, or displays, to name just a few. This Special Issue of Electronics is devoted to all aspects of two-dimensional materials for electronic applications, including material preparation and analysis, device fabrication and characterization, device physics, modeling and simulation, and circuits. The devices of interest include, but are not limited to transistors (both field-effect transistors and alternative transistor concepts), sensors, optoelectronics devices, MEMS and NEMS, and displays

Materials for large-area electronics: characterization of pentacene and graphene thin films by ac transport, Raman spectroscopy, and optics

This dissertation explores techniques for fabricating and characterizing two classes of novel materials which may be useful for large-area electronics applications: organic semiconductors and graphene. Organic semiconductors show promise for large-area electronics because of their low cost, compatibility with a variety of substrates, and relative ease of fabricating and patterning thin-film transistors (TFTs). Nearly all published work has focused on the dc electronic transport properties of these materials, rather than their ac behavior, which could be affected by their polycrystalline, granular structure. To address this, I have constructed a model of organic TFTs based on lossy transmission lines, and determined the relationship between the film conductivity and the overall device behavior for a bottom-contacted TFT. I apply this transmission-line framework to interpret my experiments on pentacene TFTs designed in a special long-channel geometry to hasten the onset of high-frequency effects. The experiments reveal an intrinsic frequency-dependent conductivity of polycrystalline pentacene, which can be understood within the context of the universal dielectric response model of ac conduction in disordered solids. The results are important for establishing practical limits on pentacene's ac performance. Graphene is a two-dimensional crystalline form of carbon, with a remarkably simple structure. It is a gapless semiconductor with an extremely high mobility and very high optical transparency, attracting great interest both for its possible uses as a replacement for silicon and as a transparent conducting material. I have synthesized large-area films of graphene via atmospheric-pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on copper substrates, adapting a low-pressure CVD method previously reported to produce exclusively monolayer graphene films. I have transferred the graphene films to insulating SiO2, and characterized them using optical transparency, Raman spectroscopy, and atomic-force microscopy, observing significant differences from the measured properties of widely studied mechanically-exfoliated graphene. I analyze the strengths and weaknesses of these three techniques for distinguishing films of different layer number, and relate them to uncertainties in the known properties of one- and few-layer graphene. I conclude that atmospheric-pressure CVD of graphene on copper produces significant areas of multilayer, rotationally-misoriented graphene, in a significant departure from results on low-pressure CVD of graphene on copper

Modeling and Simulation in Engineering

The general aim of this book is to present selected chapters of the following types: chapters with more focus on modeling with some necessary simulation details and chapters with less focus on modeling but with more simulation details. This book contains eleven chapters divided into two sections: Modeling in Continuum Mechanics and Modeling in Electronics and Engineering. We hope our book entitled "Modeling and Simulation in Engineering - Selected Problems" will serve as a useful reference to students, scientists, and engineers