Design Strategies for Ultralow Power 10nm FinFETs

Integrated circuits and microprocessor chips have become integral part of our everyday life to such an extent that it is difficult to imagine a system related to consumer electronics, health care, public transportation, household application without these small components. The heart of these circuits is, the metal oxide field-effect transistor (MOSFET) which is used as a switch. The dimensions of these transistors have been scaled from a few micrometers to few tens of nanometer to achieve higher performance, lower power consumption and low cost of production. According to the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS), beyond 32 nm technology node, planer devices will not be able to fulfill the strict leakage requirement anymore due to overpowering short channel effects and need of multi-gate transistor is inevitable. The motivation of the thesis therefore is to investigate techniques to engineer threshold voltage of a tri-gate FinFET for low power and ultra-low power applications. The complexity of physics involved in 3D nano- devices encourages use of advanced simulation tools. Thus, Technology Computer Aided Design Tools (TCAD) are needed to perform device optimization and support device and process integration engineers. Below 20nm technology node, the Fin-shaped Field Effect Transistor or Tri-gate transistor requires extensive use of 3D TCAD simulations. The multi-gate devices such as FinFETs are considered to be one of the most promising devices for Ultra Large Scale Integration (ULSI). This device structural design with additional gate electrodes and channel surfaces offers dynamic threshold voltage control. In addition, it can provide better short channel performance and reduced leakage. In this study, new design strategies for 10nm node NMOS bulk FinFET transistors are investigated to meet low power (LP) (50pA/μ

Modelling and simulation study of NMOS Si nanowire transistors

Nanowire transistors (NWTs) represent a potential alternative to Silicon FinFET technology in the 5nm CMOS technology generation and beyond. Their gate length can be scaled beyond the limitations of FinFET gate length scaling to maintain superior off-state leakage current and performance thanks to better electrostatic control through the semiconductor nanowire channels by gate-all-around (GAA) architecture. Furthermore, it is possible to stack nanowires to enhance the drive current per footprint. Based on these considerations, vertically-stacked lateral NWTs have been included in the latest edition of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) to allow for further performance enhancement and gate pitch scaling, which are key criteria of merit for the new CMOS technology generation. However, electrostatic confinement and the transport behaviour in these devices are more complex, especially in or beyond the 5nm CMOS technology generation. At the heart of this thesis is the model-based research of aggressively-scaled NWTs suitable for implementation in or beyond the 5nm CMOS technology generation, including their physical and operational limitations and intrinsic parameter fluctuations. The Ensemble Monte Carlo approach with Poisson-Schrödinger (PS) quantum corrections was adopted for the purpose of predictive performance evaluation of NWTs. The ratio of the major to the minor ellipsoidal cross-section axis (cross-sectional aspect ratio - AR) has been identified as a significant contributing factor in device performance. Until now, semiconductor industry players have carried out experimental research on NWTs with two different cross-sections: circular cylinder (or elliptical) NWTs and nanosheet (or nanoslab) NWTs. Each version has its own benefits and drawbacks; however, the key difference between these two versions is the cross-sectional AR. Several critical design questions, including the optimal NWT cross-sectional aspect ratio, remain unanswered. To answer these questions, the AR of a GAA NWT has been investigated in detail in this research maintaining the cross-sectional area constant. Signatures of isotropic charge distributions within Si NWTs were observed, exhibiting the same attributes as the golden ratio (Phi), the significance of which is well-known in the fields of art and architecture. To address the gap in the existing literature, which largely explores NWT scaling using single-channel simulation, thorough simulations of multiple channels vertically-stacked NWTs have been carried out with different cross-sectional shapes and channel lengths. Contact resistance, non-equilibrium transport and quantum confinement effects have been taken into account during the simulations in order to realistically access performance and scalability. Finally, the individual and combined effects of key statistical variability (SV) sources on threshold voltage (VT), subthreshold slope (SS), ON-current (Ion) and drain-induced barrier lowering (DIBL) have been simulated and discussed. The results indicate that the variability of NWTs is impacted by device architecture and dimensions, with a significant reduction in SV found in NWTs with optimal aspect ratios. Furthermore, a reduction in the variability of the threshold voltage has been observed in vertically-stacked NWTs due to the cancelling-out of variability in double and triple lateral channel NWTs

Simulation of FinFET Structures

The intensive downscaling of MOS transistors has been the major driving force behind the aggressive increases in transistor density and performance, leading to more chip functionality at higher speeds. While on the other side the reduction in MOSFET dimensions leads to the close proximity between source and drain, which in turn reduces the ability of the gate electrode to control the potential distribution and current flow in the channel region and also results in some undesirable effects called the short-channel effects. These limitations associated with downscaling of MOSFET device geometries have lead device designers and researchers to number of innovative techniques which include the use of different device structures, different channel materials, different gate-oxide materials, different processes such as shallow trench isolation, source/drain silicidation, lightly doped extensions etc. to enable controlled device scaling to smaller dimensions. A lot of research and development works have been done in these and related fields and more remains to be carried out in order to exploit these devices for the wider applications

5nm 이하 3D Transistors의 Self-Heating 및 전열특성분석 연구

학위논문(박사) -- 서울대학교대학원 : 공과대학 전기·컴퓨터공학부, 2021.8. 신형철.In this thesis, Self-Heating Effect (SHE) is investigated using TCAD simulations in various Sub-10-nm node Field Effect Transistor (FET). As the node decreases, logic devices have evolved into 3D MOSFET structures from Fin-FET to Nanosheet-FET. In the case of 3D MOSFET, there are thermal reliability issues due to the following reasons: ⅰ) The power density of the channel is high, ⅱ) The channel structure surrounded by SiO2, ⅲ) The overall low thermal conductivity characteristics due to scaling down. Many papers introduce the analysis and prediction of temperature rise by SHE in the device, but there are no papers presenting the content of mitigation of temperature rise. Therefore, we have studied the methods of decreasing the maximum lattice temperature (TL,max) such as shallow trench isolation (STI) composition engineering in Fin-FET, thermal analysis according to DC/AC/duty cycle in nanowire-FET, and active region ( e.g., gate metal thickness, channel width, channel number etc..) optimization in nanosheet-FET. In addition, lifetime affected by hot carrier injection (HCI) / bias-temperature instability (BTI) is also analyzed according to various thermal relaxation methods presented.이 논문에서는 다양한 Sub-10nm 노드 전계 효과 트랜지스터 (FET)에서 TCAD 시뮬레이션을 사용하여 자체 발열 효과 (SHE)를 조사합니다. 노드가 감소함에 따라 논리 장치는 Fin-FET에서 Nanosheet-FET로 3D MOSFET 구조로 진화했습니다. 3D MOSFET의 경우 ⅰ) 채널의 전력 밀도가 높음, ⅱ) SiO2로 둘러싸인 채널 구조, ⅲ) 축소로 인해 전체적으로 낮은 열전도 특성 등 다음과 같은 이유로 열 신뢰성 문제가 있습니다. 한편, 많은 논문이 device에서 SHE에 의한 온도 상승의 분석 및 예측을 소개하지만 온도 상승 완화의 내용을 제시하는 논문은 거의 없습니다. 따라서 Fin-FET의 STI (Shallow Trench Isolation) 구성 공학, nanowire-FET의 DC / AC / 듀티 사이클에 따른 열 분석, nanosheet-FET에서 소자의 중요영역(예: 게이트 금속 두께, 채널 폭, 채널 번호 등)의 최적화를 통해서 최대 격자 온도 (TL,max)를 낮추는 방법등을 연구했습니다. 또한 더 나아가서 HCI (Hot Carrier Injection) / BTI (Bias-Temperature Instability)의 영향을 받는 수명도 제시된 다양한 열 완화 방법에 따라 분석하여 소자의 제작에 있어 열적 특성과 수명을 좋게 만드는 지표를 제시합니다 .Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1. Development of Semconductor structure 1 1.2. Self-Heating Effect issues in semiconductor devices 3 Chapter 2 Thermal-Aware Shallow Trench Isolation Design Optimization for Minimizing Ioff in Various Sub-10-nm 3-D Transistor 7 2.1. Introduction 7 2.2. Device Structure and Simulation Condition 7 2.3. Results and Discussion 12 2.4. Summary 27 Chapter 3 Analysis of Self Heating Effect in DC/AC Mode in Multi-channel GAA-Field Effect Transistor 32 3.1. Introduction 32 3.2. Multi-Channel Nanowire FET and Back End Of Line 33 3.3. Work Flow and Calibration Process 35 3.4. More Detailed Thermal Simulation of Nanowire-FET 37 3.5. Performance Analysis by Number of Channels 38 3.6. DC Characteristic of SHE in Nanowire-FETs 40 3.7. AC Characteristics of SHE in Nanowire-FETs 43 3.8. Summary 51 Chapter 4 Self-Heating and Electrothermal Properties of Advanced Sub-5-nm node Nanoplate FET 56 4.1. Introduction 56 4.2. Device Structure and Simulation Condition 57 4.3. Thermal characteristics by channel number and width 62 4.4. Thermal characteristics by inter layer-metal thickness (TM) 64 4.5. Life Time Prediction 65 4.6. Summary 67 Chapter 5 Study on Self Heating Effect and life time in Vertical-channel Field Effect Transistor 72 5.1. Introduction 72 5.2. Device Structure and Simulation Condition 72 5.3. Temperature and RTH according to channel width(TW) 76 5.4. Thermal properties according to air spacers and air gap 77 5.5. Ion boosting according to Channel numbers 81 5.6. Temperature imbalance of multi-channel VFETs 82 5.7. Mitigation of the channel temperature imbalance 86 5.8. Life time depending on various analysis conditions 88 5.9. Summary 89 Chapter 6 Conclusions 93 Appendix A. A Simple and Accurate Modeling Method of Channel Thermal Noise Using BSIM4 Noise Models 95 A.1. Introduction 95 A.2. Overall Schematic of the RF MOSFET Model 97 A.3. Verification of the DC Characteristics of the RF MOSFET Model 98 A.4. Verification of the MOSFET Model with Measured Y-parameters 100 A.5. Verification of the MOSFET Model with Measured Noise Parameters 101 A.6. Thermal Noise Extraction and Modeling (TNOIMOD = 0) 103 A.7. Verification of the Enhanced Model with Noise Parameters 112 A.8. Holistic Model (TNOIMOD = 1) 114 A.9. Evaluation the validity of the model for drain bias 115 A.10. Conclusion 117 Abstract in Korean 122박

Strain integration and performance optimization in sub-20nm FDSOI CMOS technology

La technologie CMOS à base de Silicium complètement déserté sur isolant (FDSOI) est considérée comme une option privilégiée pour les applications à faible consommation telles que les applications mobiles ou les objets connectés. Elle doit cela à son architecture garantissant un excellent comportement électrostatique des transistors ainsi qu'à l'intégration de canaux contraints améliorant la mobilité des porteurs. Ce travail de thèse explore des solutions innovantes en FDSOI pour nœuds 20nm et en deçà, comprenant l'ingénierie de la contrainte mécanique à travers des études sur les matériaux, les dispositifs, les procédés d'intégration et les dessins des circuits. Des simulations mécaniques, caractérisations physiques (µRaman), et intégrations expérimentales de canaux contraints (sSOI, SiGe) ou de procédés générant de la contrainte (nitrure, fluage de l'oxyde enterré) nous permettent d'apporter des recommandations pour la technologie et le dessin physique des transistors en FDSOI. Dans ce travail de thèse, nous avons étudié le transport dans les dispositifs à canal court, ce qui nous a amené à proposer une méthode originale pour extraire simultanément la mobilité des porteurs et la résistance d'accès. Nous mettons ainsi en évidence la sensibilité de la résistance d'accès à la contrainte que ce soit pour des transistors FDSOI ou nanofils. Nous mettons en évidence et modélisons la relaxation de la contrainte dans le SiGe apparaissant lors de la gravure des motifs et causant des effets géométriques (LLE) dans les technologies FDSOI avancées. Nous proposons des solutions de type dessin ainsi que des solutions technologiques afin d'améliorer la performance des cellules standard digitales et de mémoire vive statique (SRAM). En particulier, nous démontrons l'efficacité d'une isolation duale pour la gestion de la contrainte et l'extension de la capacité de polarisation arrière, qui un atout majeur de la technologie FDSOI. Enfin, la technologie 3D séquentielle rend possible la polarisation arrière en régime dynamique, à travers une co-optimisation dessin/technologie (DTCO).The Ultra-Thin Body and Buried oxide Fully Depleted Silicon On Insulator (UTBB FDSOI) CMOS technology has been demonstrated to be highly efficient for low power and low leakage applications such as mobile, internet of things or wearable. This is mainly due to the excellent electrostatics in the transistor and the successful integration of strained channel as a carrier mobility booster. This work explores scaling solutions of FDSOI for sub-20nm nodes, including innovative strain engineering, relying on material, device, process integration and circuit design layout studies. Thanks to mechanical simulations, physical characterizations and experimental integration of strained channels (sSOI, SiGe) and local stressors (nitride, oxide creeping, SiGe source/drain) into FDSOI CMOS transistors, we provide guidelines for technology and physical circuit design. In this PhD, we have in-depth studied the carrier transport in short devices, leading us to propose an original method to extract simultaneously the carrier mobility and the access resistance and to clearly evidence and extract the strain sensitivity of the access resistance, not only in FDSOI but also in strained nanowire transistors. Most of all, we evidence and model the patterning-induced SiGe strain relaxation, which is responsible for electrical Local Layout Effects (LLE) in advanced FDSOI transistors. Taking into account these geometrical effects observed at the nano-scale, we propose design and technology solutions to enhance Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) and digital standard cells performance and especially an original dual active isolation integration. Such a solution is not only stress-friendly but can also extend the powerful back-bias capability, which is a key differentiating feature of FDSOI. Eventually the 3D monolithic integration can also leverage planar Fully-Depleted devices by enabling dynamic back-bias owing to a Design/Technology Co-Optimization

Sub-10nm Transistors for Low Power Computing: Tunnel FETs and Negative Capacitance FETs

One of the major roadblocks in the continued scaling of standard CMOS technology is its alarmingly high leakage power consumption. Although circuit and system level methods can be employed to reduce power, the fundamental limit in the overall energy efficiency of a system is still rooted in the MOSFET operating principle: an injection of thermally distributed carriers, which does not allow subthreshold swing (SS) lower than 60mV/dec at room temperature. Recently, a new class of steep-slope devices like Tunnel FETs (TFETs) and Negative-Capacitance FETs (NCFETs) have garnered intense interest due to their ability to surpass the 60mV/dec limit on SS at room temperature. The focus of this research is on the simulation and design of TFETs and NCFETs for ultra-low power logic and memory applications. Using full band quantum mechanical model within the Non-Equilibrium Greens Function (NEGF) formalism, source-underlapping has been proposed as an effective technique to lower the SS in GaSb-InAs TFETs. Band-tail states, associated with heavy source doping, are shown to significantly degrade the SS in TFETs from their ideal value. To solve this problem, undoped source GaSb-InAs TFET in an i-i-n configuration is proposed. A detailed circuit-to-system level evaluation is performed to investigate the circuit level metrics of the proposed devices. To demonstrate their potential in a memory application, a 4T gain cell (GC) is proposed, which utilizes the low-leakage and enhanced drain capacitance of TFETs to realize a robust and long retention time GC embedded-DRAMs. The device/circuit/system level evaluation of proposed TFETs demonstrates their potential for low power digital applications. The second part of the thesis focuses on the design space exploration of hysteresis-free Negative Capacitance FETs (NCFETs). A cross-architecture analysis using HfZrOx ferroelectric (FE-HZO) integrated on bulk MOSFET, fully-depleted SOI-FETs, and sub-10nm FinFETs shows that FDSOI and FinFET configurations greatly benefit the NCFET performance due to their undoped body and improved gate-control which enables better capacitance matching with the ferroelectric. A low voltage NC-FinFET operating down to 0.25V is predicted using ultra-thin 3nm FE-HZO. Next, we propose one-transistor ferroelectric NOR type (Fe-NOR) non-volatile memory based on HfZrOx ferroelectric FETs (FeFETs). The enhanced drain-channel coupling in ultrashort channel FeFETs is utilized to dynamically modulate memory window of storage cells thereby resulting in simple erase-, program-and read-operations. The simulation analysis predicts sub-1V program/erase voltages in the proposed Fe-NOR memory array and therefore presents a significantly lower power alternative to conventional FeRAM and NOR flash memories

Multigate MOSFETs for digital performance and high linearity, and their fabrication techniques

The aggressive downscaling of complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology is facing great challenges to overcome severe short-channel effects. Multigate MOSFETs are one of the most promising candidates for scaling beyond Si CMOS, due to better electrostatic control as compared to conventional planar MOSFETs. Conventional dry etching-induced surface damage is one of the main sources of performance degradation for multigate transistors, especially for III-V high mobility materials. It is also challenging to increase the fin aspect ratio by dry etching because of the non-ideal anisotropic etching profile. Here, we report a novel method, inverse metal-assisted chemical etching (i-MacEtch), in lieu of conventional RIE etching, for 3D fin channel formation. InP junctionless FinFETs with record high-aspect-ratio (~ 50:1) fins are demonstrated by this method for the first time. The i-MacEtch process flow eliminates dry-etching-induced plasma damage, high energy ion implantation damage, and high temperature annealing, allowing for the fabrication of InP fin channels with atomically smooth sidewalls. The sidewall features resulting from this unique and simplified process ensure high interface quality between high-k dielectric layer and InP fin channel. Experimental and theoretical analyses show that high-aspect-ratio FinFETs, which could deliver more current per area under much relaxed horizontal geometry requirements, are promising in pushing the technology node ahead where conventional scaling has met its physical limits. The performance of the FinFET was further investigated through numerical simulation. A new kind of FinFET with asymmetric gate and source/drain contacts has been proposed and simulated. By benchmarking with conventional symmetric FinFET, better short-channel behavior with much higher current density is confirmed. The design guidelines are provided. The overall circuit delay can be minimized by optimizing gate lengths according to different local parasites among circuits in interconnection-delay-dominated SoC applications. Continued transistor scaling requires even stronger gate electrostatic control over the channel. The ultimate scaling structure would be gate-all-around nanowire MOSFETs. We demonstrate III-V junctionless gate-all-around (GAA) nanowire (NW) MOSFETs for the first time. For the first time, source/drain (S/D) resistance and thermal budget are minimized by regrowth using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) in III-V MOSFETs. The fabricated short-channel (Lg=80 nm) GaAs GAA NWFETs with extremely narrow nanowire width (WNW= 9 nm) show excellent transconductance (gm) linearity at biases (300 mV), characterized by the high third intercept point (2.6 dBm). The high linearity is especially important for low power applications because it is insensitive to bias conditions

Fabricação de protótipos de FinFETs usando métodos alternativos

Orientadores: Leandro Tiago Manera, José Alexandre DinizDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Elétrica e de ComputaçãoResumo: Este trabalho explora métodos alternativos para fabricação de protótipos de FinFETs. Diferentes métodos de definição de fin (fresagem de máscara de Al por feixe de íon focalizado e litografia por feixe focalizado de íons de gálio) são explorados, buscando flexibilidade na definição do número de fins, bem como a altura dos fins. Diferentes estruturas de porta são aplicados nos FinFETs fabricados, com dois materiais dielétricos diferentes (SiON e TiAlON) e dois métodos diferentes para a formação de TiN como eletrodo de porta. O processo de fabricação detalhado é fornecida e discutido, com especial atenção às dificuldades e desafios enfrentados. Etapas de fabricação são cuidadosamente avaliadas, apresentando detalhes e parâmetros de forma que o processo possa ser replicado. Caracterizações morfológicas e elétricas são realizadas nos FinFETs fabricadas. Com a litografia por feixe focalizado de íons de gálio, FinFETs com nove fins em paralelo são fabricados, com largura de fin até 87nm e comportamento elétrico de transistor. Parâmetros elétricos são extraídos, tais como VTH, inclinação de sublimiar, corrente de fuga, mobilidade de portadores, RSD, função trabalho do eletrodo de porta, EOT, e outros. FinFETs com largura fin abaixo de 100nm são apresentados, com inclinação de sublimiar de 120 mV/dec e moblidade de portadores de 372 cm²/V.s, resultados que mostram uma melhoria em relação a trabalhos anteriores, mas ainda deixam espaço para otimizações. Discussões são realizadas, explicando o significado dos parâmetros extraídos, e formas de melhorar os resultados. As diferentes estruturas de porta são avaliados quanto à estabilidade dos parâmetros e densidade de corrente de fuga. Um EOT de 3.6nm é alcançado para o dieléctrico SiON, com densidade de corrente de fuga entre 177uA/cm² e 0.61mA/cm². Desenvolvimentos importantes são feitos no sentido da integração de processos e inovaçoes em termos de métodos de fabricação de protótipos. Trabalhos futuros incluem melhorias na interface de silício-dielétrico e um processo de fabricação auto alinhado para alcançar uma maior transcondutância e acoplamento entre porta e canal, e reduzir a resistência sérieAbstract: This work explores alternative methods for FinFET prototype fabrication. Different fin definition methods (Al hard mask FIB milling and Ga+ FIB lithography) are explored, aiming for flexibility in defining the number of fins, as well as fin height. Alternative gate stacks are applied in the fabricated FinFETs, with two different dielectric materials (SiON and TiAlON) and two different methods for TiN gate electrode formation. The detailed fabrication process is provided and discussed, with special attention to difficulties and challenges faced. Fabrication steps are carefully evaluated, presenting details and parameters such as that the process could be replicated. Morphological and electrical characterizations are performed on the fabricated FinFETs. With the Ga+ FIB lithography method, working FinFETs with nine parallel fins are fabricated, with fin width down to 87nm. Electrical parameters are extracted, such as VTH, subthreshold slope, leakage current, low field mobility, RSD, gate electrode work function, EOT, and others. Working FinFETs with sub-100nm fin width are presented, with subthreshold slope of 120mV/dec and low field mobility of 372cm²/v.s, results that show an improvement on previous works, but still leave room for optimizations. Discussions are performed, explaining the meaning of the extracted parameters, and ways to improve the results. The different gate stacks are evaluated regarding their parameter stability and leakage current density. An EOT of 3.6nm is achieved for the SiON dielectric, with leakage current density between 177uA/cm² and 0.61mA/cm². Important developments have been made towards process integration and novel prototype fabrication methods. Future works include silicon-dielectric interface improvements and a self aligned process to achieve increased transconductance and gate-to-channel coupling, and reduce the series resistanceMestradoEletrônica, Microeletrônica e OptoeletrônicaMestra em Engenharia Elétrica161893/2015-5CNP

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

Process-induced Structural Variability-aware Performance Optimization for Advanced Nanoscale Technologies

Department of Electrical EngineeringAs the CMOS technologies reach the nanometer regime through aggressive scaling, integrated circuits (ICs) encounter scaling impediments such as short channel effects (SCE) caused by reduced ability of gate control on the channel and line-edge roughness (LER) caused by limits of the photolithography technologies, leading to serious device parameter fluctuations and makes the circuit analysis difficult. In order to overcome scaling issues, multi-gate structures are introduced from the planar MOSFET to increase the gate controllability. The goal of this dissertation is to analyze structural variations induced by manufacturing process in advanced nanoscale devices and to optimize its impacts in terms of the circuit performances. If the structural variability occurs, aside from the endeavor to reduce the variability, the impact must be taken into account at the design level. Current compact model does not have device structural variation model and cannot capture the impact on the performance/power of the circuit. In this research, the impacts of structural variation in advanced nanoscale technology on the circuit level parameters are evaluated and utilized to find the optimal device shape and structure through technology computer-aided-design (TCAD) simulations. The detail description of this dissertation is as follows: Structural variation for nanoscale CMOS devices is investigated to extend the analysis approach to multi-gate devices. Simple and accurate modeling that analyzes non-rectilinear gate (NRG) CMOS transistors with a simplified trapezoidal approximation method is proposed. The electrical characteristics of the NRG gate, caused by LER, are approximated by a trapezoidal shape. The approximation is acquired by the length of the longest slice, the length of the smallest slice, and the weighting factor, instead of taking the summation of all the slices into account. The accuracy can even be improved by adopting the width-location-dependent factor (Weff). The positive effect of diffusion rounding at the transistor source side of CMOS is then discussed. The proposed simple layout method provides boosting the driving strength of logic gates and also saving the leakage power with a minimal area overhead. The method provides up to 13% speed up and also saves up to 10% leakage current in an inverter simulation by exploiting the diffusion rounding phenomena in the transistors. The performance impacts of the trapezoidal fin shape of a double-gate FinFET are then discussed. The impacts are analyzed with TCAD simulations and optimal trapezoidal angle range is proposed. Several performance metrics are evaluated to investigate the impact of the trapezoidal fin shape on the circuit operation. The simulations show that the driving capability improves, and the gate capacitance increases as the bottom fin width of the trapezoidal fin increases. The fan-out 4 (FO4) inverter and ring-oscillator (RO) delay results indicate that careful optimization of the trapezoidal angle can increase the speed of the circuit because the ratios of the current and capacitance have different impacts depending on the trapezoidal angle. Last but not least, the electrical characteristics of a double-gate-all-around (DGAA) transistor with an asymmetric channel width using device simulations are also investigated in this work. The DGAA FET, a kind of nanotube field-effect transistor (NTFET), can solve the problem of loss of gate controllability of the channel and provide improved short-channel behavior. Simulation results reveal that, according to the carrier types, the location of the asymmetry has a different effect on the electrical properties of the devices. Thus, this work proposes the n/p DGAA FET structure with an asymmetric channel width to form the optimal inverter. Various electrical metrics are analyzed to investigate the benefits of the optimal inverter structure over the conventional GAA inverter structure. In the optimum structure, 27% propagation delay and 15% leakage power improvement can be achieved. Analysis and optimization for device-level variability are critical in integrated circuit designs of advanced technology nodes. Thus, the proposed methods in this dissertation will be helpful for understanding the relationship between device variability and circuit performance. The research for advanced nanoscale technologies through intensive TCAD simulations, such as FinFET and GAA, suggests the optimal device shape and structure. The results provide a possible solution to design high performance and low power circuits with minimal design overhead.ope