New experimental findings on hot carrier effects in sub-0.1 μmMOSFET's

The behaviors of the substrate current and the impact ionization rate are investigated for deep submicron devices in a wide temperature range. New important features are shown for the variations of the maximum substrate current as a function of applied biases and temperature. It is found that the gate voltage V_gmax, corresponding to the maximum impact ionization current conditions, is quasi-constant as a Function of the drain bias for sub-0.1 μm MOSFET's in the room temperature range. At low temperature, a substantial increase of V_gmax is observed when the drain voltage is reduced. It is also shown that, although a significant enhancement of hot carrier effects is observed by scaling down the devices, a strong reduction of the impact ionization rate is obtained for sub-0.1 μm MOSFET's operated at liquid nitrogen temperature in the low drain voltage range     

A pseudo-lucky electron model for simulation of electron gatecurrent in submicron NMOSFET's

An energy parameterized pseudo-lucky electron model for simulation of gate current in submicron MOSFET's is presented in this paper. The model uses hydrodynamic equations to describe more correctly the carrier energy dependence of the gate injection phenomenon. The proposed model is based on the exponential form of the conventional lucky electron gate current model. Unlike the conventional lucky electron model, which is based on the local electric fields in the device, the proposed model accounts for nonlocal effects resulting from the large variations in the electric field in submicron MOSFET's. This is achieved by formulating the lucky electron model in terms of an effective-electric field that is obtained by using the computed average carrier energy in the device and the energy versus field relation obtained from uniform-field Monte Carlo simulations. Good agreement with gate currents over a wide range of bias conditions for three sets of devices is demonstrated     

Temperature dependence of the anomalous leakage current inpolysilicon-on-insulator MOSFET's

A new analytical model is presented for the temperature and bias dependence of the anomalous leakage current based on thermionic field emission via grain boundary traps in the gate-drain overlap region in polysilicon-on-insulator MOSFET's. The existing model based on pure field emission (tunneling) via grain boundary traps does not include a temperature dependence and therefore cannot explain the observed strong temperature dependence of leakage at low gate voltages, as well as the weaker temperature dependence at high gate voltages, which the new analytical model presented in this paper can. Below 150 K, we believe that impact ionization due to the increasing carrier mean free path leads to the observed increase in the leakage current with decreasing temperature. Since the analytical model does not include impact ionization, it cannot model the leakage current at low temperatures     

Numerical simulation of polycrystalline-Silicon MOSFET's

In this paper we investigate polycrystalline-silicon MOSFET operation by means of a two-dimensional device-analysis program developed at the University of Bologna. The grain-boundary model used in this study allows for both donor and acceptor states at the interface, and assumes a drift-diffusion transport mechanism, consistently with the general structure of the code. Results achieved thus far allow us to interpret the increased threshold voltage experimentally observed in polycrystalline-silicon MOSFET's and the device transconductance in strong inversion; on the other hand, the current increase occurring at negative gate voltages is not justified by the numerical model so far implemented. It is believed that field-enhanced emission rates and impact ionization are possible mechanims to interpret the above conduction increase.     

A DC model for asymmetric trapezoidal gate MOSFET's in stronginversion

Asymmetric trapezoidal gate (ATG) MOSFET is an innovative device having a structure of a relatively narrow drain-side width in order to reduce parasitic effects for enhancing device performance. In this paper, we develop a DC model for ATG MOSFET's. We use a charge-based approach to explore the asymmetric feature between source and drain of ATG MOSFET's, and obtain analytic formulae for threshold voltage, body effect, drain current, and channel length modulation effect in linear and saturation regions for both forward and reverse modes of operations. The model provides a physical analysis of the ATG structure, shows good agreement with measurement data, and is useful in circuit simulation with ATG devices     

A new approach to modeling the substrate current of pre-stressedand post-stressed MOSFET's

In this paper, we propose a closed form expression of a new and accurate analytical substrate current model for both pre-stressed and post-stressed MOSFET's. It was derived based on the concept of effective electric field, which gives a more reasonable impact ionization rate in the lucky-electron model. This effective electric field, composed by two experimentally determined parameters, can be regarded as a result of nonlocal heating effects within devices. This model shows a significant improvement to the conventional local field model. One salient feature of the present model is that it allows us to characterize the time evolution of the substrate current of stressed MOSFET's for the first time. Experimental verification for a wide variety of MOSFET's with effective channel lengths down to 0.3 μm shows that the new model is very accurate and is feasible for any kind of MOS device with different drain structures. The present model can be applied to explore the hot carrier effect in designing submicrometer MOS devices with emphasis on the design optimization of a device drain engineering issue. In addition, the present model is well suited for device reliability analysis and circuit level simulations     

Physical subthreshold MOSFET modeling applied to viable design ofdeep-submicrometer fully depleted SOI low-voltage CMOS technology

An insightful study of the subthreshold characteristics of deep-submicrometer fully depleted SOI MOSFET's, based on two-dimensional numerical (PISCES) device simulations, shows that the gate swing and off-state current are governed by gate bias-dependent source/drain charge sharing, which controls back-channel as well as front-channel conduction. The insight from this study guides the development of a physical, two-dimensional analytic model for the subthreshold current and charge, which is linked to our strong-inversion formalism in SOISPICE for circuit simulation. The model is verified by PISCES simulations of scaled devices. The utility of the model in SOISPICE is demonstrated by using it to define a viable design for deep-submicrometer fully depleted SOI CMOS technology based on simulated speed and static power in low-voltage digital circuits     

A physically-based MOS transistor avalanche breakdown model

A physically based breakdown model for MOSFET's is presented to rectify the unexplained experimental breakdown behaviors. The drain avalanche breakdown in the MOS transistor can be caused by either infinite multiplication (MI) or finite multiplication with positive feedback of the substrate current (MF) due to the impact ionization in the pinch-off region. The breakdown voltages of these two modes of breakdown have different dependencies on the biasing conditions and device parameters. For MI mode of breakdown, the breakdown voltage increases slowly with the gate voltage and can be approximated by the drain saturation voltage plus a constant offset. For MF mode of breakdown, the breakdown voltage decreases as the drain saturation current becomes larger. The calculated breakdown characteristics agree well with the measured ones for devices with effective channel length in the range of 0.44~10 μm     

在Vg=Vd/2应力模式下2.5nm氧化层pMOSFETs的新寿命预测模型

研究了2.5nm超薄栅短沟pMOSFETs在Vg=Vd/2应力模式下的热载流子退化机制及寿命预测模型.栅电流由四部分组成:直接隧穿电流、沟道热空穴、一次碰撞电离产生的电子注入、二次碰撞电离产生的空穴注入.器件退化主要是由一次碰撞产生的电子和二次碰撞产生的空穴复合引起.假设器件寿命反比于能够越过Si-SiO2界面势垒的二次碰撞产生的二次空穴数目,在此基础上提出了一个新的模型并在实验中得到验证.     

New experimental findings on hot carrier effects in deep submicrometer surface channel PMOS

The correlation between gate current and substrate current in surface channel(SC) PMOS with effective channel length down to 0.15 μm is investigated within the general framework of the lucky-electron model. It is found that the impact ionization rate increases, but the device degradation is not serious in deep submicrometer PMOS. To extend the lucky-electron model to deep submicrometer regime, we empirically model the effective pinch-off length as a function of the gate length and the gate bias voltage. SCIHE is suggested as the possible physical mechanism for the enhanced impact ionization and the gate current reduction.     

Generation mechanism of gate leakage current due to reverse-voltagestress in i-AlGaAs/n-GaAs HIGFETs

Device degradation characterized as an increase in the gate leakage current due to continuous reverse-voltage stress was investigated for a 0.35-μm WSi gate i-AlGaAs/n-GaAs doped channel HIGFET (heterostructure insulated-gate field-effect transistor). The gate leakage current, which was dominated by a hole current generated by impact ionization, was found to increase after the application of a gate-to-drain voltage of -6 V for a certain period. The occurrence of the impart ionization was evidenced by the generation of a substrate current and by the negative temperature coefficient of the gate current. The degradation was retarded at an elevated temperature, indicative of hot-carrier-related degradation. The degraded device also showed an ohmic-like gate leakage current. Subsequent annealing at temperatures above 300°C significantly restored the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics. From these observations, a degradation model was developed in which hot holes generated by impact ionization are trapped in the insulator/semiconductor interface, contracting the surface depletion region and thereby increasing the electric field near the gate-edge. A surface treatment using CF₄ plasma was used to suppress the degradation. An FET fabricated using this treatment showed a remarkable decrease in degradation     

在Vg=Vd/2应力模式下2.5nm氧化层pMOSFETs的新寿命预测模型

研究了2 .5 nm超薄栅短沟p MOSFETs在Vg=Vd/ 2应力模式下的热载流子退化机制及寿命预测模型.栅电流由四部分组成:直接隧穿电流、沟道热空穴、一次碰撞电离产生的电子注入、二次碰撞电离产生的空穴注入.器件退化主要是由一次碰撞产生的电子和二次碰撞产生的空穴复合引起.假设器件寿命反比于能够越过Si- Si O2 界面势垒的二次碰撞产生的二次空穴数目,在此基础上提出了一个新的模型并在实验中得到验证.     

Shot-noise-induced excess low-frequency noise in floating-bodypartially depleted SOI MOSFET's

Floating-body partially depleted (PD) SOI MOSFET's exhibit excess low-frequency noise. For the first time, the origin of the excess noise is identified to be the shot noise associated with impact ionization current and body-source diode current. The shot noise, normally negligible as compared with flicker noise, is amplified in the device through the floating-body effect (FEE). A physically-based noise model is proposed which predicts that the excess low-frequency noise shows a Lorentzian-like spectrum as verified by experimental data. The physical explanation is further supported by the coincidence of the characteristic frequency in noise spectrum and AC output impedance of the device     

A source-side injection erasable programmable read-only-memory (SI-EPROM) device

A new erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) device with promise for low-voltage high-speed programming is described. This device is an asymmetrical n-channel stacked-gate MOSFET, with a short weak gate-control channel region introduced close to the source. At high gate bias, a strong channel electric field is created in this local region even at a relatively low drain voltage. Furthermore, the gate oxide field in this region also aids the injection of hot electrons into the floating gate. As a result, the source-side injection EPROM (SI-EPROM) has shown 10-µs programming speed at a drain voltage of 5 V.     

Transient behavior of the kink effect in partially-depleted SOIMOSFET's

The behavior of transients in the drain current of partially-depleted (PD) SOI MOSFET's down to L_eff=0.2 μm is examined as a function of drain bias, gate pulses of varying magnitude (V_GS), pulse duration, and pulse frequency. At fixed V_DS, the gate is pulsed to values ranging from 0.1 V above V_T to V_GS=V_DS. A slow transient is seen when the drain is biased at a V_DS where the current kink is observable. This slow transient can be on the order of microseconds depending on the relative magnitude of the impact ionization rate. For short times after the pulse edge or for very short pulses at low frequencies, it is shown that the subthreshold drain current value can be very different from the corresponding DC, and that the kink characteristic of PD MOSFET's disappears. However, the kink values can be approached when the pulse frequency and/or duration applied to the gate is increased, due to the latent charge maintained in the floating body at higher frequencies. No transient current effects were observed in fully-depleted SOI MOSFET's     

FET noise sources and their effects on amplifier performance at low frequencies

In this brief review paper analytical results concerning the low-frequency (LF) amplifier noise performance of FET's are presented. The effects of interaction between the device basic noise sources, the small-signal model parameters, and the signal source admittance parameters are clearly indicated. The noise performance is found to be essentially determined by the effective surface-state density and the gate insulator thickness product (N_{ss}t_{ox}) in the case of MOSFET's, whereas in the case of JFET's, this is determined by the bulk density of impurity and/or defect generation-recombination (g-r) centers within the depletion region and the half-channel height squared product (N_{TT}a^{2}). Although an increase in the gate electrode area can reduce the equivalent gate noise resistance, this does not improve the noise performance of the device. Quantitative results based on typical device parameters are graphically presented with proper indications as to the upper limit of the LF range, the excess minimum noise figure, and the frequency range within which the noise figure remains below 3 dB level for specified source resistance values. The effects of gate leakage current on the noise performance of JFET's are included in these results.     

Analytical modeling of the subthreshold current in short-channel MOSFET's

In this paper an analytical model for subthreshold current for both long-channel and short-channel MOSFET's is presented. The analytical electrostatic potential derived from the explicit solution of a two-dimensional Poisson's equation in the depletion region under the gate for uniform doping is used. The case for nonuniform doping can easily be incorporated and will be published later. The results are compared to a numerical solution obtained by using MINIMOS, for similar device structures. An analytical expression for the channel current is obtained as a function of drain, gate, substrate voltages, and device parameters for devices in the subthreshold region. The short-channel current equation reduces to the classical long-channel equation as the channel length increases.     

Current-voltage characteristics of thin-film SOI MOSFET's in strong inversion

A simple analytic model for the steady-state current-voltage characteristics of strongly inverted silicon-on-insulator (SOI) MOSFET's is developed. The model, simplified by a key approximation that the inversion charge density is described well by a linear function of the Surface potential, clearly shows the dependence of the drain current on the device parameters and on the terminal voltages, including the back-gate (substrate) bias. The analysis is supported by measurements of current-voltage characteristics of thin-film (laser-recrystallized) SOI MOSFET's. The dependence of carrier mobility on the terminal voltages, especially the back-gate bias, is analyzed and shown to underlie discrepancies between the theoretical (constant mobility) and experimental results at high gate voltages. The mobility dependence on the back-gate bias enhances the strong influence of the back gate on the drain current, especially when the device is saturated.     

Parasitic bipolar gain in fully depleted n-channel SOI MOSFET's

Fully depleted SOI MOSFET's include an inherent parasitic lateral bipolar structure with a floating base. We present here the first complete physically based explanation of the bipolar gain mechanism, and its dependence on bias and technological parameters. A simple, one-dimensional physical model, with no fitting parameters, is constructed, and is shown to agree well with simulations and measurements performed on a new type of SOI MOSFET structure. It is shown that parameters which affect the gain, such as SOI layer thickness, body doping concentration and gate and drain voltages, do so primarily by affecting the concentration of holes in the body region. Thus, current gain falls dramatically with increasing drain voltage due to the associated impact ionization driven increase in the hole concentration. Gummel plots of this parasitic bipolar indicate an apparent ideality factor of 0.5 for the hole current, due to the body hole concentration's dependence on drain voltage     

Submicron gate MOSFET's with channel-doped separate gate structures (SG-MOSFET's)

Submicron gate MOSFET's with a new device structure are presented. The device features gate separation between the source and gate and between the gate and drain. The minimum gate length limited by VTHlowering is extended into the submicron range. Experimental results showed pentode-like current-voltage characteristics without punchthtough, even in the submicron range. Experimental results of inverter circuits and theoretical analysis predict high-speed operation in the subnanosecond region.