Realization of multiple valued logic and memory by hybrid SETMOS architecture

A novel complimentary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) single-electron transistor (SET) hybrid architecture, named SETMOS, is proposed, which offers Coulomb blockade oscillations and quasi-periodic negative differential resistance effects at much higher current level than the traditional SETs. The Coulomb blockade oscillation characteristics are exploited to realize the multiple valued (MV) literal gate and the periodic negative differential resistance behavior is utilized to implement capacitor-less multiple valued static random access memory (MV SRAM) cell. The SETMOS literal gate is then used to build up other MV logic building blocks, e.g., transmission gate, binary to MV logic encoder, and MV to binary logic decoder. Analytical SET model simulations are employed to verify the functionalities of the proposed MV logic and memory cells for quaternary logic systems. SETMOS MV architectures are found to be much faster and less temperature-sensitive than previously reported hybrid CMOS-SET based MV circuits.     

A practical SPICE model based on the physics and characteristics of realistic single-electron transistors

A practical model for a single-electron transistor (SET) was developed based on the physical phenomena in realistic Si SETs, and implemented into a conventional circuit simulator. In the proposed model, the SET current calculated by the analytic model is combined with the parasitic MOSFET characteristics, which have been observed in many recently reported SETs formed on Si nanostructures. The SPICE simulation results were compared with the measured characteristics of the Si SETs. In terms of the bias, temperature, and size dependence of the realistic SET characteristics, an extensive comparison leads to good agreement within a reasonable level of accuracy. This result is noticeable in that a single set of model parameters was used, while considering divergent physical phenomena such as the parasitic MOSFET, the Coulomb oscillation phase shift, and the tunneling resistance modulated by the gate bias. When compared to the measured data, the accuracy of the voltage transfer characteristics of a single-electron inverter obtained from the SPICE simulation was within 15%. This new SPICE model can be applied to estimating the realistic performance of a CMOS/SET hybrid circuit or various SET logic architectures.     

SOI single-electron transistor with low RC delay for logic cells and SET/FET hybrid ICs

We report on a successful fabrication of silicon-based single-electron transistors (SETs) with low RC time constant and their applications to complementary logic cells and SET/field-effect transistor (FET) hybrid integrated circuit. The SETs were fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure by a pattern-dependent oxidation (PADOX) technique, combined with e-beam lithography. Drain conductances measured at 4.2 K approach large values of the order of microsiemens, exhibiting Coulomb oscillations with peak-to-valley current ratios /spl Gt/1000. Data analysis with a probable mechanism of PADOX yields their intrinsic speeds of /spl sim/ 2 THz, which is within an order of magnitude of the theoretical quantum limit. Incorporating these SETs as basic elements, in-plane side gate-controlled complementary logic cells and SET/FET hybrid integrated circuits were fabricated on an SOI chip. Such an in-plane structure is very efficient in the Si fabrication process, and the side gates adjacent to the electron island could easily control the phase of Coulomb oscillations. The input-output voltage transfer, characteristic of the logic cell, shows an inverting behavior where the output voltage gain is estimated to be about 1.2 at 4.2 K. The SET/FET hybrid integrated circuit consisting of one SET and three FETs yields a high-voltage gain and power amplification with a wide-range output window for driving the next circuit. The small SET input gate voltage of 30 mV is finally converted to 400 mV, corresponding to an amplification ratio of 13.     

Analysis of Energy Quantization Effects on Single-Electron Transistor Circuits

In this paper, the effects of energy quantization on different single-electron transistor (SET) circuits (logic inverter, current-biased circuits, and hybrid MOS-SET circuits) are analyzed through analytical modeling and Monte Carlo simulations. It is shown that energy quantization mainly increases the Coulomb blockade area and Coulomb blockade oscillation periodicity, and thus, affects the SET circuit performance. A new model for the noise margin of the SET inverter is proposed, which includes the energy quantization effects. Using the noise margin as a metric, the robustness of the SET inverter is studied against the effects of energy quantization. An analytical expression is developed, which explicitly defines the maximum energy quantization (termed as “ quantization threshold”) that an SET inverter can withstand before its noise margin falls below a specified tolerance level. The effects of energy quantization are further studied for the current-biased negative differential resistance (NDR) circuit and hybrid SETMOS circuit. A new model for the conductance of NDR characteristics is also formulated that explains the energy quantization effects.      

一种SETMOS二阶带通滤波器设计实现

单电子晶体管（SET）作为一种纳电子器件有着较大的优势,将SET与纳米MOS混合构成的器件（SETMOS）是目前研究的热点之一。SETMOS作为一种新的混合器件,在结合了两者优点的同时,具有与SET一样的库仑振荡特性和MOS高增益等特性。文章基于一种sETM0s混合结构的电压电流特性的数学模型,设计并实现了一种SETMOS二阶带通滤波器,阐述了这种SETMOS带通滤波器的结构、工作条件、性能、参数和特点,并用PSpice对其传输特性进行了仿真验证,结果证明,SETMOS在其通带范围内具有良好的带通幅频特性,且具有低电压、低功耗和高频的特点。     

Analog-digital and digital-analog converters using single-electron and MOS transistors

This paper proposes two kinds of novel single-electron analog-digital conversion (ADC) and digital-analog conversion (DAC) circuits that consist of single-electron transistors (SETs) and metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistors. The SET/MOS hybrid ADC and DAC circuits possess the merits of the SET circuit and the MOS circuit. We obtain the SPICE macro-modeling code of the SET transistor by studying and fitting the characteristics of the SET with SPICE simulation and Monte Carlo simulation methods. The SPICE macro-modeling code is used for the simulation of the SET/MOS hybrid ADC and DAC circuits. We simulate the performances of the SET/MOS hybrid 3-b ADC and 2-b DAC circuits by using the H-SPICE simulator. The simulation results demonstrate that the hybrid circuits can perform analog-digital and digital-analog data conversion well at room temperature. The hybrid ADC and DAC circuits have advantages as follows: 1) compared with conventional circuits, the architectures of the circuits are simpler; 2) compared with single electron transistor circuits, the circuits have much larger load capability; 3) the power dissipation of the circuits are lower than /spl omega/W; 4) the data conversion rate of the circuits can exceed 100 MHz; and 5) the resolution of the ADC and DAC circuits can be increased by the pipeline architectures.     

Single-electron transistors based on gate-induced Si island for single-electron logic application

The island size dependence of the capacitance components of single-electron transistors (SETs) based on gate-induced Si islands was extracted from the electrical characteristics. In the fabricated SETs, the sidewall gate tunes the electrically induced tunnel junctions, and controls the phase of the Coulomb oscillation. The capacitance between the sidewall gate and the Si island extracted from the Coulomb oscillation phase shift of the SETs with sidewall depletion gates on a silicon-on-insulator nanowire was independent of the Si island size, which is consistent with the device structure. The Coulomb oscillation phase shift of the fabricated SETs has the potential for a complementary operation. As a possible application to single-electron logic, the complementary single-electron inverter and binary decision diagram operation on the basis of the Coulomb oscillation phase shift and the tunable tunnel junctions were demonstrated.     

1.2-V, 10-bit, 60-360 MS/s time-interleaved pipelined analog-to-digital converter in 0.18 μm CMOS with minimised supply headroom

A low-voltage 1.2-V, 10-bit, 60?360 MS/s six channels time-interleaved reset-opamp pipelined ADC is designed and implemented in a 0.18-μm CMOS (V_THN/V_THP = 0.63 V/-0.65 V for mid-supply floating switches). Without using on-chip high-voltage and low-V_T options, the proposed ADC employs low-voltage resistivedemultiplexing techniques, low-voltage gain-and-offset compensation, feedback current biasing to reduce the sensitivity of the bias current over process variations and current-mode sub-ADCs with static current sharing for a low-voltage time-interleaved implementation. Speed options of 60-360 MS/s are available with scalable power and they can be obtained by automatic selection of the number of time-interleaved channels. The chip measurement results show that the ADC exhibits a differential non-linearity (DNL)/integral non-linearity (INL) better than 0.9/1.2 LSB and a peak SNDR above 54 dB, for all speed options, while consuming 85 mW at 60 MS/s and 426 mW at 360 MS/s. The active die area is 13.2 mm².     

3-D Design and Analysis of Functional NEMS-gate MOSFETs and SETs

Nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS)-gate metal- oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) and single- electron transistor (SET) structures are investigated by combining 3-D design and SPICE simulation. First, the metal gate is simulated by using a 3-D simulator, which enables to design realistic 3-D device structures, and its movement is studied for different design parameters. It is demonstrated that a low stiffness design of the structure is essential for a low-voltage actuation. Results are compared with theoretical numerical simulation and a tunable capacitor model is then embedded in a SPICE simulator and coupled either with a transistor model for MOS-NEMS or with a newly developed SET analytical model for SET-NEMS. It is shown that the use of NEMS membrane can add new functionalities to conventional MOSFET and SET, such as very abrupt switching of the current, which can break theoretical limits of MOSFET, or modulation of Coulomb oscillations governing SET characteristics     

Accurate and computer efficient modelling of single event transients in CMOS circuits

A new analytical modelling approach to evaluate the impact of single event transients (SETs) on CMOS circuits has been developed. The model allows evaluation of transient pulse amplitude and width (duration) at the logic level, without the need to run circuit level (Spice-like) simulations. The SET mechanism in MOS circuits is normally investigated by Spice-like circuit simulation. The problem is that electrical simulation is time-consuming and must be performed for each different circuit topology, incident particle and track. The availability of a simple model at the logic gate level may greatly improve circuit sensitivity analysis. The electrical response of a circuit to an ionising particle hit depends on many parameters, such as circuit topology, circuit geometry and waveform shape of the charge injection mechanism. The proposed analytical model, which is accurate and computer efficient, captures these transistor-level effects of ionising particle hits and models them to the logic level of abstraction. The key idea is to exploit a model that allows the rapid determination of the sensitivity of any logic gate in a CMOS circuit, without the need to run circuit simulations. The model predicts whether or not a particle hit generates a SET, which may propagate to the next logic gate or memory element, making possible to analyse the sensitivity of each node in a complex circuit. Model derivation is strongly related to circuit electrical behaviour, being consistent with technology scaling. The model is suitable for integration into CAD tools, intending to make automated evaluation of circuit sensitivity to SET possible, as well as automated estimation of soft error rate     

Single electron transistor fabricated with SOI wafer

The single electron transistor (SET) is the most sensitive device for measuring the charge of electron. It has been proposed by Kane that the SET can be used for readout of calculated results in Si-based quantum computer. We fabricated the SET with SOI substrate utilizing the suspended mask of SiO₂ and Si for the purpose of using it for readout of calculation in Si-Based quantum computer. By using only the above materials for the mask, high temperature processes including ion implantation and activation annealing could be possible and it was never achieved in conventional methods with the suspended mask with photoresist. First, the suspended mask with enough undercut in SOI was made by removing the box oxide of SOI wafer combining with pattern delineation by electron beam lithography, anisotropically reactive ion etching and isotropic wet etching. After forming the suspended mask, Al films were evaporated from two different angles to make an overlap just below the bridge, resulting in completing the SET in the undercut region possible to measure the electron spin. After making the Al/Al₂O₃/Al SET, we measured the I–V characteristic between source and drain at 1.8 K. The Coulomb blockade and the Coulomb oscillation were observed.     

Fabrication and Characteristics of Self-Aligned Dual-Gate Single-Electron Transistors

Single-electron transistors that have electrical tunneling barriers are fabricated, and Coulomb oscillation peaks and negative differential transconductance are observed at room temperature (300 K). Operation characteristics and multioscillation peaks are further investigated at low temperature (80 K). The period of Coulomb oscillation is 2.3 V due to an ultrasmall control gate capacitance, and oscillation peaks are shifted through the side gate bias, which is explained by the derived stability plot for dual-gate structures. Even with the side gates electrically floating, the device still operates as a single-electron transistor since the p-n junction barrier plays a role of tunneling barrier. In addition, by changing the bias condition, double dots are formed along the channel and peak splitting is observed.     

Silicon single electron transistors with SOI and MOSFET structures: the role of access resistances

Coulomb blockade has been widely reported in silicon and metallic structures without intentional tunnel barriers. In particular, a simple constriction in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) allows to build a three-terminal silicon single-electron transistor (SET) operating at moderate temperature. The key parameters are the access resistances confining the electrons and the size of the gate-channel overlap, which sets the Coulomb energy. Thin films of doped silicon with sheet resistance of a few tens of h/e/sup 2/ are well suited for fabricating optimized access resistances. Low doped extensions with typical resistivity 1000 /spl Omega//spl mu/m (at 300 K) are also good candidates. We illustrate this MOS-SET principle in SOI constriction and standard MOSFET of similar size. Although relying on different concepts, the ultimate MOSFET and MOS-SET are shown to be technologically close, differing mostly by the ratio between the channel resistance over the access resistance. Because this ratio is decreasing as the gate length shrinks, single electron effects should become more and more important at high temperature in the subthreshold regime of standard field effect transistor devices.     

Measurements of single electron transistor devices combined with aCCC: progress report

The BNM-LCIE is developing a current standard based on single electron transistor (SET) pumps. This paper gives an overview of the experimental set-up. It includes the circuit details, in particular the combination of miniature filters and homemade lines giving high attenuation in a wide frequency band, and a cryogenic current comparator (CCC) with winding ratio of 10000:1 for high accuracy amplification of the current. The results of the testing of the circuit and CCC are presented, together with the first measurements of the current through a SET carried out by means of a CCC. Coulomb blockade oscillations with an amplitude less than 200 fA have been observed with a signal to noise ratio approaching 100 and at bias voltages as small as a 100 nV     

Coulomb Blockade Peak Statistics Influenced by Background Charge Configuration

Statistics of Coulomb blockade oscillations in metallic singleelectron transistors are investigated. We observe stronglynon-Gaussian distributions of nearest-neighbor conductancepeak spacings. The fluctuations of peak position are found tobe reproducible as a function of gate voltage, with ahysteresis when sweeping the voltage up and down. Our resultsare explained in terms of gate potential dependentbistabilities in the background charge configuration. Weemphasize the importance of carefully taking into account theenvironmental charge fluctuations in high sensitivityelectrometric SET experiments, like such on single particlelevel statistics in semiconductor quantum dots.     

Electrical properties of high-κ gate dielectrics: Challenges, current issues, and possible solutions

High-κ gate dielectrics like HfO₂ and HfSiO(N) are considered for the replacement of SiO₂ and SiON layers in advanced complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) devices. Using these gate oxides allows indeed to drastically reduce the leakage current flowing through the device, as required by the specifications of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors. However, major problems remain to be solved before the possible use of high-κ gate dielectrics in integrated circuits. The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the challenges and issues pertaining to high-κ-based devices. Several issues are discussed in detail, like flat-band and threshold voltage control, carrier mobility degradation, charge trapping, gate dielectric wear-out and breakdown, and bias temperature instabilities. Our current understanding of these issues is presented, with an emphasis on the relationship between the material properties of the gate stack, and the electrical properties of the devices. The combination of metal gates with high-κ gate dielectric appears to be a promising solution for the further scaling down of CMOS devices.     

Spin-Polarized Transport Phenomena in Double Magnetic Tunnel Junctions Caused by Ferromagnetic CoFe Nanoparticles

We present some unusual spin-polarized transport phenomena in asymmetric double barrier magnetic tunneling junctions (ADBMTJs) with CoFe/AlO_x/ferromagnetic nanoparticle (FM-NPs)/AlO_x/Ta structures. The conductance curves and the magnetoresistance ratio clearly oscillate with applied bias voltage, indicating the presence of Coulomb blockade effects due to isolated ferromagnetic nanoparticles in the parallel configuration in the ADBMTJ. The oscillation period is about 1.5 mV at 2 K.     

Novel Hybrid Voltage Controlled Ring Oscillators Using Single Electron and MOS Transistors

This paper proposes two kinds of novel hybrid voltage controlled ring oscillators (VCO) using a single electron transistor (SET) and metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor. The novel SET/MOS hybrid VCO circuits possess the merits of both the SET circuit and the MOS circuit. The novel VCO circuits have several advantages: wide frequency tuning range, low power dissipation, and large load capability. We use the SPICE compact macro model to describe the SET and simulate the performances of the SET/MOS hybrid VCO circuits by HSPICE simulator. Simulation results demonstrate that the hybrid circuits can operate well as a VCO at room temperature. The oscillation frequency of the VCO circuits could be as high as 1 GHz, with a -71 dBc/Hz phase noise at 1 MHz offset frequency. The power dissipations are lower than 2 uW. We studied the effect of fabrication tolerance, background charge, and operating temperature on the performances of the circuits     

Single electron transistor with P-type sidewall spacer gates

A single-electron transistor (SET) is one of the promising solutions to overcome the scaling limit of the Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET). Up to now, various kinds of SETs are being proposed and SETs with a dual gate (DG) structure using an electrical potential barrier have been demonstrated for room temperature operation. To operate DG-SETs, however, extra bias of side gates is necessary. It causes new problems that the electrode for side gates and the extra bias for electrical barrier increase the complexity in circuit design and operation power consumption, respectively. For the reason, a new mechanism using work function (WF) difference is applied to operate a SET at room temperature by three electrodes. Its structure consists of an undoped active region, a control gate, n-doped source/drain electrodes, and metal/silicide or p-type silicon side gates, and a SET with metal/silicide gates or p-type silicon gates forms tunnel barriers induced by work function between an undoped channel and grounded side gates. Via simulation, the effectiveness of the new mechanism is confirmed through various silicide materials that have different WF values. Furthermore, by considering the realistic conditions of the fabrication process, SET with p-type sidewall spacer gates was designed, and its brief fabrication process was introduced. The characteristics of its electrical barrier and the controllability of its control gate were also confirmed via simulation. Finally, a single-hole transistor with n-type sidewall spacer gates was designed.