Heating Effects in Nanoscale Devices

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ANALYTICAL MODELS AND ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISATION OF ADVANCED MOSFETS IN THE QUASI BALLISTIC REGIME

International audienceThe quasi-ballistic nature of transport in end of the roadmap MOSFETs device is expected to lead to significant on state current enhancement. The current understanding of such mechanism of transport is carefully reviewed in this chapter, underlining the derivation and limits of corresponding analytical models. In a second part, different strategies to compare these models to experiments are discussed, trying to estimate the "degree of ballisticity" achieved in advanced technologies

Monte Carlo study of current variability in UTB SOI DG MOSFETs

The scaling of conventional silicon based MOSFETs is increasingly difficult into the nanometer regime due to short channel effects, tunneling and subthreshold leakage current. Ultra-thin body silicon-on-insulator based architectures offer a promising alternative, alleviating these problems through their geometry. However, the transport behaviour in these devices is more complex, especially for silicon thicknesses below 10 nm, with enhancement from band splitting and volume inversion competing with scattering from phonons, Coulomb interactions, interface roughness and body thickness fluctuation. Here, the effect of the last scattering mechanism on the drive current is examined as it is considered a significant limitation to device performance for body thicknesses below 5 nm. A simulation technique that properly captures non-equilibrium transport, includes quantum effects and maintains computational efficiency is essential for the study of this scattering mechanism. Therefore, a 3D Monte Carlo simulator has been developed which includes this scattering effect in an ab initio fashion, and quantum corrections using the Density Gradient formalism. Monte Carlo simulations using `frozen field' approximation have been carried out to examine the dependence of mobility on silicon thickness in large, self averaging devices. This approximation is then used to carry out statistical studies of uniquely different devices to examine the variability of on-current. Finally, Monte Carlo simulations self consistent with Poisson's equation have been carried out to further investigate this mechanism

Modeling and Simulation of Subthreshold Characteristics of Short-Channel Fully-Depleted Recessed-Source/Drain SOI MOSFETs

Non-conventional metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices have attracted researchers‟ attention for future ultra-large-scale-integration (ULSI) applications since the channel length of conventional MOS devices approached the physical limit. Among the non-conventional CMOS devices which are currently being pursued for the future ULSI, the fully-depleted (FD) SOI MOSFET is a serious contender as the SOI MOSFETs possess some unique features such as enhanced short-channel effects immunity, low substrate leakage current, and compatibility with the planar CMOS technology. However, due to the ultra-thin source and drain regions, FD SOI MOSFETs possess large series resistance which leads to the poor current drive capability of the device despite having excellent short-channel characteristics. To overcome this large series resistance problem, the source/drain area may be increased by extending S/D either upward or downward. Hence, elevated-source/drain (E-S/D) and recessed-source/drain (Re-S/D) are the two structures which can be used to minimize the series resistance problem. Due to the undesirable issues such as parasitic capacitance, current crowding effects, etc. with E-S/D structure, the Re-S/D structure is a better choice. The FD Re-S/D SOI MOSFET may be an attractive option for sub-45nm regime because of its low parasitic capacitances, reduced series resistance, high drive current, very high switching speed and compatibility with the planar CMOS technology. The present dissertation is to deal with the theoretical modeling and computer-based simulation of the FD SOI MOSFETs in general, and recessed source/drain (Re-S/D) ultra-thin-body (UTB) SOI MOSFETs in particular. The current drive capability of Re-S/D UTB SOI MOSFETs can be further improved by adopting the dual-metal-gate (DMG) structure in place of the conventional single-metal-gate-structure. However, it will be interesting to see how the presence of two metals as gate contact changes the subthreshold characteristics of the device. Hence, the effects of adopting DMG structure on the threshold voltage, subthreshold swing and leakage current of Re-S/D UTB SOI MOSFETs have been studied in this dissertation. Further, high-k dielectric materials are used in ultra-scaled MOS devices in order to cut down the quantum mechanical tunneling of carriers. However, a physically thick gate dielectric causes fringing field induced performance degradation. Therefore, the impact of high-k dielectric materials on subthreshold characteristics of Re-S/D SOI MOSFETs needs to be investigated. In this dissertation, various subthreshold characteristics of the device with high-k gate dielectric and metal gate electrode have been investigated in detail. Moreover, considering the variability problem of threshold voltage in ultra-scaled devices, the presence of a back-gate bias voltage may be useful for ultimate tuning of the threshold voltage and other characteristics. Hence, the impact of back-gate bias on the important subthreshold characteristics such as threshold voltage, subthreshold swing and leakage currents of Re-S/D UTB SOI MOSFETs has been thoroughly analyzed in this dissertation. The validity of the analytical models are verified by comparing model results with the numerical simulation results obtained from ATLAS™, a device simulator from SILVACO Inc

Discrimination of surface and volume states in fully depleted field-effect devices on thick insulator substrates

The behavior of electronic devices fabricated on thin, lightly doped semiconductor layers can be significantly influenced by very low levels of non-ideal charge states. Such devices typically operate in a fully depleted mode, and can exhibit significantly different electrical properties and characteristics than their bulk material counterparts. Traditional interpretation of device characteristics may identify the existence of such non-idealities, but fail to ascertain if the origin is from within the semiconductor layer or associated with the interfaces to adjacent dielectric materials. This leads to ambiguity in how to rectify the behavior and improve device performance. Characterizing non-idealities through electrical means requires adaptations in both measurement techniques and data interpretation. Some of these adaptations have been applied in material systems like silicon-on-insulator (SOI), however in systems where the semiconductor film becomes increasingly isolated on very thick insulators (i.e., glass), the device physics of operation presents new challenges. Overcoming the obstacles in interpretation can directly aid the technology development of thin semiconductor films on thick insulator substrates. The investigation is initiated by isolating the interface of crystalline silicon bonded to a thick boro-aluminosilicate glass insulator. The interface is studied through traditional bulk capacitance-voltage (C-V) methods, and the electrical fragility of the interface is exposed. This reveals the necessity to discriminate between interface states and bulk defect states. To study methods of discrimination, the physics of field-effect devices fabricated on isolated semiconducting films is explained. These devices operate in a fully depleted state; expressions that describe the C-V relationship with a single gate electrode are derived and explored. The discussion presents an explanation of how surface and volume charge states each contribute to the C-V characteristic behavior. Application of this adapted C-V theory is then applied to the gated-diode, a novel device which has proven to be instrumental in charge state discrimination. Through this adaptation, the gated-diode is used to extract recombination-generation parameters isolated to the top surface, bottom surface and within the volume of the film. The methodology is developed through an exploration of devices fabricated on SOI and silicon-on-glass (SiOG) substrates, and furthers the understanding needed to improve material quality and device performance

Reliability Investigations of MOSFETs using RF Small Signal Characterization

Modern technology needs and advancements have introduced various new concepts such as Internet-of-Things, electric automotive, and Artificial intelligence. This implies an increased activity in the electronics domain of analog and high frequency. Silicon devices have emerged as a cost-effective solution for such diverse applications. As these silicon devices are pushed towards higher performance, there is a continuous need to improve fabrication, power efficiency, variability, and reliability. Often, a direct trade-off of higher performance is observed in the reliability of semiconductor devices. The acceleration-based methodologies used for reliability assessment are the adequate time-saving solution for the lifetime's extrapolation but come with uncertainty in accuracy. Thus, the efforts to improve the accuracy of reliability characterization methodologies run in parallel. This study highlights two goals that can be achieved by incorporating high-frequency characterization into the reliability characteristics. The first one is assessing high-frequency performance throughout the device's lifetime to facilitate an accurate description of device/circuit functionality for high-frequency applications. Secondly, to explore the potential of high-frequency characterization as the means of scanning reliability effects within devices. S-parameters served as the high-frequency device's response and mapped onto a small-signal model to analyze different components of a fully depleted silicon-on-insulator MOSFET. The studied devices are subjected to two important DC stress patterns, i.e., Bias temperature instability stress and hot carrier stress. The hot carrier stress, which inherently suffers from the self-heating effect, resulted in the transistor's geometry-dependent magnitudes of hot carrier degradation. It is shown that the incorporation of the thermal resistance model is mandatory for the investigation of hot carrier degradation. The property of direct translation of small-signal parameter degradation to DC parameter degradation is used to develop a new S-parameter based bias temperature instability characterization methodology. The changes in gate-related small-signal capacitances after hot carrier stress reveals a distinct signature due to local change of flat-band voltage. The measured effects of gate-related small-signal capacitances post-stress are validated through transient physics-based simulations in Sentaurus TCAD.:Abstract Symbols Acronyms 1 Introduction 2 Fundamentals 2.1 MOSFETs Scaling Trends and Challenges 2.1.1 Silicon on Insulator Technology 2.1.2 FDSOI Technology 2.2 Reliability of Semiconductor Devices 2.3 RF Reliability 2.4 MOSFET Degradation Mechanisms 2.4.1 Hot Carrier Degradation 2.4.2 Bias Temperature Instability 2.5 Self-heating 3 RF Characterization of fully-depleted Silicon on Insulator devices 3.1 Scattering Parameters 3.2 S-parameters Measurement Flow 3.2.1 Calibration 3.2.2 De-embedding 3.3 Small-Signal Model 3.3.1 Model Parameters Extraction 3.3.2 Transistor Figures of Merit 3.4 Characterization Results 4 Self-heating assessment in Multi-finger Devices 4.1 Self-heating Characterization Methodology 4.1.1 Output Conductance Frequency dependence 4.1.2 Temperature dependence of Drain Current 4.2 Thermal Resistance Behavior 4.2.1 Thermal Resistance Scaling with number of fingers 4.2.2 Thermal Resistance Scaling with finger spacing 4.2.3 Thermal Resistance Scaling with GateWidth 4.2.4 Thermal Resistance Scaling with Gate length 4.3 Thermal Resistance Model 4.4 Design for Thermal Resistance Optimization 5 Bias Temperature Instability Investigation 5.1 Impact of Bias Temperature Instability stress on Device Metrics 5.1.1 Experimental Details 5.1.2 DC Parameters Drift 5.1.3 RF Small-Signal Parameters Drift 5.2 S-parameter based on-the-fly Bias Temperature Instability Characterization Method 5.2.1 Measurement Methodology 5.2.2 Results and Discussion 6 Investigation of Hot-carrier Degradation 6.1 Impact of Hot-carrier stress on Device performance 6.1.1 DC Metrics Degradation 6.1.2 Impact on small-signal Parameters 6.2 Implications of Self-heating on Hot-carrier Degradation in n-MOSFETs 6.2.1 Inclusion of Thermal resistance in Hot-carrier Degradation modeling 6.2.2 Convolution of Bias Temperature Instability component in Hot-carrier Degradation 6.2.3 Effect of Source and Drain Placement in Multi-finger Layout 6.3 Vth turn-around effect in p-MOSFET 7 Deconvolution of Hot-carrier Degradation and Bias Temperature Instability using Scattering parameters 7.1 Small-Signal Parameter Signatures for Hot-carrier Degradation and Bias Temperature Instability 7.2 TCAD Dynamic Simulation of Defects 7.2.1 Fixed Charges 7.2.2 Interface Traps near Gate 7.2.3 Interface Traps near Spacer Region 7.2.4 Combination of Traps 7.2.5 Drain Series Resistance effect 7.2.6 DVth Correction 7.3 Empirical Modeling based deconvolution of Hot-carrier Degradation 8 Conclusion and Recommendations 8.1 General Conclusions 8.2 Recommendations for Future Work A Directly measured S-parameters and extracted Y-parameters B Device Dimensions for Thermal Resistance Modeling C Frequency response of hot-carrier degradation (HCD) D Localization Effect of Interface Traps Bibliograph

Modeling of Total Ionizing Dose Effects in Advanced Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Technologies

abstract: The increased use of commercial complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technologies in harsh radiation environments has resulted in a new approach to radiation effects mitigation. This approach utilizes simulation to support the design of integrated circuits (ICs) to meet targeted tolerance specifications. Modeling the deleterious impact of ionizing radiation on ICs fabricated in advanced CMOS technologies requires understanding and analyzing the basic mechanisms that result in buildup of radiation-induced defects in specific sensitive regions. Extensive experimental studies have demonstrated that the sensitive regions are shallow trench isolation (STI) oxides. Nevertheless, very little work has been done to model the physical mechanisms that result in the buildup of radiation-induced defects and the radiation response of devices fabricated in these technologies. A comprehensive study of the physical mechanisms contributing to the buildup of radiation-induced oxide trapped charges and the generation of interface traps in advanced CMOS devices is presented in this dissertation. The basic mechanisms contributing to the buildup of radiation-induced defects are explored using a physical model that utilizes kinetic equations that captures total ionizing dose (TID) and dose rate effects in silicon dioxide (SiO2). These mechanisms are formulated into analytical models that calculate oxide trapped charge density (Not) and interface trap density (Nit) in sensitive regions of deep-submicron devices. Experiments performed on field-oxide-field-effect-transistors (FOXFETs) and metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors permit investigating TID effects and provide a comparison for the radiation response of advanced CMOS devices. When used in conjunction with closed-form expressions for surface potential, the analytical models enable an accurate description of radiation-induced degradation of transistor electrical characteristics. In this dissertation, the incorporation of TID effects in advanced CMOS devices into surface potential based compact models is also presented. The incorporation of TID effects into surface potential based compact models is accomplished through modifications of the corresponding surface potential equations (SPE), allowing the inclusion of radiation-induced defects (i.e., Not and Nit) into the calculations of surface potential. Verification of the compact modeling approach is achieved via comparison with experimental data obtained from FOXFETs fabricated in a 90 nm low-standby power commercial bulk CMOS technology and numerical simulations of fully-depleted (FD) silicon-on-insulator (SOI) n-channel transistors.Dissertation/ThesisPh.D. Electrical Engineering 201

Characterisation of thermal and coupling effects in advanced silicon MOSFETs

PhD ThesisNew approaches to metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) engineering emerge in order to keep up with the electronics market demands. Two main candidates for the next few generations of Moore’s law are planar ultra-thin body and buried oxide (UTBB) devices and three-dimensional FinFETs. Due to miniature dimensions and new materials with low thermal conductivity, performance of advanced MOSFETs is affected by self-heating and substrate effects. Self-heating results in an increase of the device temperature which causes mobility reduction, compromised reliability and signal delays. The substrate effect is a parasitic source and drain coupling which leads to frequency-dependent analogue behaviour. Both effects manifest themselves in the output conductance variation with frequency and impact analogue as well as digital performance. In this thesis self-heating and substrate effects in FinFETs and UTBB devices are characterised, discussed and compared. The results are used to identify trade-offs in device performance, geometry and thermal properties. Methods how to optimise the device geometry or biasing conditions in order to minimise the parasitic effects are suggested. To identify the most suitable technique for self-heating characterisation in advanced semiconductor devices, different methods of thermal characterisation (time and frequency domain) were experimentally compared and evaluated alongside an analytical model. RF and two different pulsed I-V techniques were initially applied to partially depleted silicon-on-insulator (PDSOI) devices. The pulsed I-V hot chuck method showed good agreement with the RF technique in the PDSOI devices. However, subsequent analysis demonstrated that for more advanced technologies the time domain methods can underestimate self-heating. This is due to the reduction of the thermal time constants into the nanosecond range and limitations of the pulsed I-V set-up. The reduction is related to the major increase of the surface to volume ratio in advanced MOSFETs. Consequently the work showed that the thermal properties of advanced semiconductor devices must be characterised within the frequency domain. For UTBB devices with 7-8 nm Si body and 10 nm ultra-thin buried oxide (BOX) the analogue performance degradation caused by the substrate effects can be stronger than the analogue performance degradation caused by self-heating. However, the substrate effects can be effectively reduced if the substrate doping beneath the buried ii oxide is adjusted using a ground plane. In the MHz – GHz frequency range the intrinsic voltage gain variation is reduced ~6 times when a device is biased in saturation if a ground plane is implemented compared with a device without a ground plane. UTBB devices with 25 nm BOX were compared with UTBB devices with 10 nm BOX. It was found that the buried oxide thinning from 25 nm to 10 nm is not critical from the thermal point of view as other heat evacuation paths (e.g. source and drain) start to play a role. Thermal and substrate effects in FinFETs were also analysed. It was experimentally shown that FinFET thermal properties depend on the device geometry. The thermal resistance of FinFETs strongly varies with the fin width and number of parallel fins, whereas the fin spacing is less critical. The results suggest that there are trade-offs between thermal properties and integration density, electrostatic control and design complexity, since these aspects depend on device geometry. The high frequency substrate effects were found to be effectively reduced in devices with sub-100 nm wide fins.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and EU fundin

Approche industrielle aux boîtes quantiques dans des dispositifs de silicium sur isolant complètement déplété pour applications en information quantique

La mise en oeuvre des qubits de spin électronique à base de boîtes quantiques réalisés en utilisant une technologie avancée de métal-oxyde-semiconducteur complémentaire (en anglais: CMOS ou Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) fonctionnant à des températures cryogéniques permet d’envisager la fabrication industrielle reproductible et à haut rendement de systèmes de qubits de spin à grande échelle. Le développement d’une architecture de boîtes quantiques à base de silicium fabriquées en utilisant exclusivement des techniques de fabrication industrielle CMOS constitue une étape majeure dans cette direction. Dans cette thèse, le potentiel de la technologie UTBB (en anglais: Ultra-Thin Body and Buried oxide) silicium sur isolant complétement déplété (en anglais: FD-SOI ou Fully Depleted Silicon-On-Insulator) 28 nm de STMicroelectronics (Crolles, France) a été étudié pour la mise en oeuvre de boîtes quantiques bien définies, capables de réaliser des systèmes de qubit de spin. Dans ce contexte, des mesures d’effet Hall ont été réalisées sur des microstructures FD-SOI à 4.2 K afin de déterminer la qualité du noeud technologique pour les applications de boîtes quantiques. De plus, un flot du processus d’intégration, optimisé pour la mise en oeuvre de dispositifs quantiques utilisant exclusivement des méthodes de fonderie de silicium pour la production de masse est présenté, en se concentrant sur la réduction des risques de fabrication et des délais d’exécution globaux. Enfin, deux géométries différentes de dispositifs à boîtes quantiques FD-SOI de 28nm ont été conçues et leurs performances ont été étudiées à 1.4 K. Dans le cadre d’une collaboration entre Nanoacademic Technologies, Institut quantique et STMicroelectronics, un modèle QTCAD (en anglais: Quantum Technology Computer-Aided Design) en 3D a été développé pour la modélisation de dispositifs à boîtes quantiques FD-SOI. Ainsi, en complément de la caractérisation expérimentale des structures de test via des mesures de transport et de spectroscopie de blocage de Coulomb, leur performance est modélisée et analysée à l’aide du logiciel QTCAD. Les résultats présentés ici démontrent les avantages de la technologie FD-SOI par rapport à d’autres approches pour les applications de calcul quantique, ainsi que les limites identifiées du noeud 28 nm dans ce contexte. Ce travail ouvre la voie à la mise en oeuvre des nouvelles générations de dispositifs à boîtes quantiques FD-SOI basées sur des noeuds technologiques inférieurs.Abstract: Electron spin qubits based on quantum dots implemented using advanced Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) technology functional at cryogenic temperatures promise to enable reproducible high-yield industrial manufacturing of large-scale spin qubit systems. A milestone in this direction is to develop a silicon-based quantum dot structure fabricated using exclusively CMOS industrial manufacturing techniques. In this thesis, the potential of the industry-standard process 28 nm Ultra-Thin Body and Buried oxide (UTBB) Fully Depleted Silicon-On-Insulator (FD-SOI) technology of STMicroelectronics (Crolles, France) was investigated for the implementation of well-defined quantum dots capable to realize spin qubit systems. In this context, Hall effect measurements were performed on FD-SOI microstructures at 4.2 K to determine the quality of the technology node for quantum dot applications. Moreover, an optimized integration process flow for the implementation of quantum devices, using exclusively mass-production silicon-foundry methods is presented, focusing on reducing manufacturing risks and overall turnaround times. Finally, two different geometries of 28 nm FD-SOI quantum dot devices were conceived, and their performance was studied at 1.4 K. In the framework of a collaboration between Nanoacademic Technologies, Institut quantique, and STMicroelectronics, a 3D Quantum Technology Computer-Aided Design (QTCAD) model was developed for FD-SOI quantum dot device modeling. Therefore, along with the experimental characterization of the test structures via transport and Coulomb blockade spectroscopy measurements, their performance is modeled and analyzed using the QTCAD software. The results reported here demonstrate the advantages of the FD-SOI technology over other approaches for quantum computing applications, as well as the identified limitations of the 28 nm node in this context. This work paves the way for the implementation of the next generations of FD-SOI quantum dot devices based on lower technology nodes