Impact of three-dimensional transistor on the pattern area reduction for ULSI

The impact of three-dimensional transistors, double-gate transistor, trench-isolated transistor (TIS) (using sidewall gate)/FinFET, and surrounding gate transistor (SGT) on the pattern area reduction for ultra-large-scale integration (ULSI) has been described. The pattern area of the gate logic, such as NAND or NOR, with the double-gate transistor, TIS/FinFET or SGT can be reduced to 58, 47, 48%, respectively, compared with the conventional planar case using the same feature size, F. The pattern area of the tapered buffer circuit with the double-gate transistor, TIS/FinFET or SGT can be reduced to 58, 20, 48%, respectively. These three-dimensional transistors can be adapted to ULSI such as application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), microprocessor (MPU), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and embedded DRAM. The smallest pattern area may be realized with TIS/FinFET or SGT of 47-48% for ASIC, with TIS/FinFET of 42% for MPU, with SGT of 65% for DRAM and with TIS/FinFET or SGT for embedded DRAM. For designing the circuit with TIS/FinFET the design of the trench depth (2F for gate logic, 12F for tapered buffer) is the key issue. The design of the cell library for SGT is a task for the future.     

Fault-tolerant designs for 256 Mb DRAM

This paper describes fault-tolerant designs, which have been used to boost the yield of a 286 mm² 256 Mb DRAM with x32 both-ends DQ. The 256 Mb DRAM consists of sixteen 16 Mb units, each containing one 128 Kb row redundancy block. This row redundancy block architecture allows flexible row redundancy replacement, where random faults, clustered faults, and grouped faults can be efficiently repaired. Flexible column redundancy replacement with interchangeable master DQ's (MDQ) is used to allow a 256 b data compression without causing a data conflict, while improving the column access speed by 2 ns. A depletion NMOS bitline-precharge-current-limiter suppresses the current flow which occurs as a result of a wordline-bitline short-circuit to only 15 μA per cross fail, avoiding a standby current fail. Consequently, the hardware results show a significant yield enhancement of 16 times relative to the intra-block/segment replacement. Detailed simulation results show that this 256 Mb DRAM allows 275 random faults to be repaired with 5.5% silicon area overhead for 80% chip yield     

High-performance embedded SOI DRAM architecture for the low-powersupply

This paper presents the high-performance DRAM array and logic architecture for a sub-1.2-V embedded silicon-on-insulator (SOI) DRAM. The degradation of the transistor performance caused by boosted wordline voltage level is distinctly apparent in the low voltage range. In our proposed stressless SOI DRAM array, the applied electric field to the gate oxide of the memory-cell transistor can he relaxed. The crucial problem that the gate oxide of the embedded-DRAM process must be thicker than that of the logic process can be solved. As a result, the performance degradation of the logic transistor can be avoided without forming the gate oxides of the memory-cell array and the logic circuits individually. In addition, the data retention characteristics can be improved. Secondly, we propose the body-bias-controlled SOI-circuit architecture which enhances the performance of the logic circuit at sub-1.2-V power supply voltage, Experimental results verify that the proposed circuit architecture has the potential to reduce the gate-delay time up to 30% compared to the conventional one. This proposed architecture could provide high performance in the low-voltage embedded SOI DRAM     

An automatic temperature compensation of internal sense ground forsubquarter micron DRAM's

This paper describes DRAM array driving techniques and the parameter scaling techniques for low voltage operation using the boosted sense ground (BSG) scheme and further improved methods. Temperature compensation and adjustable internal voltage levels maintain a small subthreshold leakage current for a memory cell transistor (MC-Tr), and a distributed BSG (DBSG) scheme and a column decoded sensing (CDS) scheme achieve the effective scaling. These schemes can set the DRAM array free from the leakage current problem and the influence of temperature variations. Therefore, parameters for the MC-Tr, threshold voltage (V _th), and the boosted voltage for the gate bias can be scaled down, and it is possible to determine the V_th of the MC-Tr simply (0.45 V at K=0.4) for the satisfaction of the small leakage current, for high speed and stable operation, and for high reliability (V_PP is below 2 V_CC). They are applicable to subquarter micron DRAM's of 256 Mb and more     

0.13-μm 32-Mb/64-Mb embedded DRAM core with high efficientredundancy and enhanced testability

This paper describes the 32-Mb and the 64-Mb embedded DRAM core with high efficient redundancy, which is fabricated using 0.13-μm triple-well 4-level Cu embedded DRAM technology. Core size of 18.9 mm ² and cell efficiency of 51.3% for the 32-Mb capacity, and core size of 33.4 mm² and cell efficiency of 58.1% for the 64-Mb capacity are realized. This core can achieve 230-MHz burst access at 1.0-V power-supply condition by adopting a new data bus architecture: merged shift column redundancy. We implemented four test functions to improve the testability of the embedded DRAM core. It realizes the DRAM core test in a logic test environment     

A study of highly scalable DG-FinDRAM

This letter reports the scalability of a capacitor-less 1T-DRAM, and proposes a new concept about extending the use of 1T-DRAM to gate lengths of less than 50 nm. Superior characteristics such as long retention time and large sense margin even for gate lengths around 50 nm can be obtained with a double-gate fully depleted FinFET DRAM. Considering capacity, speed, power, and structural complexity of embedded memory, the capacitor-less 1T-DRAM has the possibility of playing the leading role among other memories.     

Device design guidelines for FC-SGT DRAM cells with high soft-error immunity

This paper describes the device design guidelines for floating channel type surrounding gate transistor (FC-SGT) DRAM cells with high soft-error immunity. One FC-SGT DRAM cell consists of an FC-SGT and a three-dimensional storage capacitor. The cell itself arranges the bit line (BL), storage node, and body region in a silicon pillar vertically and hence, achieves a cell area of 4F/sup 2/ (F: feature size) per bit. A thin-pillar FC-SGT with a metal gate can maintain a low leakage current without using a heavy doping concentration in the body region. Furthermore, as the silicon pillar thickness is reduced, the device enters into the fully depleted operation and as a result can realize excellent switching characteristics. In FC-SGT DRAM cells, the parasitic bipolar current is a major factor that causes soft errors to occur. However, the parasitic bipolar current can be suppressed and its duration can be shortened as the silicon pillar thickness is reduced. As a result, the amount of stored charge lost in the storage capacitor can be effectively decreased by using a thin-pillar FC-SGT. In the case of a 10-nm-thick FC-SGT, the amount lost due to the parasitic bipolar current is decreased to about 28% of that due to the leakage current. Therefore, FC-SGT DRAM is a promising candidate for future nanometer high-density DRAMs having high soft-error immunity.     

Numerical analysis of alpha-particle-induced soft errors in floating channel type surrounding gate transistor (FC-SGT) DRAM cell

This paper clarifies alpha-particle-induced soft error mechanisms in floating channel type surrounding gate transistor (FC-SGT) DRAM cells. One FC-SGT DRAM cell consists of an FC-SGT and a three-dimensional (3-D) storage capacitor. The cell itself arranges bit line (BL), storage node and body region in a silicon pillar vertically and achieves cell area of 4F/sup 2/ (F: feature size) per bit. In FC-SGT DRAM cells, the parasitic bipolar current is a major factor to cause soft errors. When an alpha particle penetrates the silicon pillar, generated electrons are collected to the storage node or BL due to the tunneling and diffusion mechanisms. On the other hand, holes are swept into the body region and accumulated. Consequently, the current flows not only in the surface but also in the entire body region due to the floating body effect. This parasitic bipolar current becomes the largest when an alpha particle penetrates the silicon pillar along the vertical axis. However, in case of FC-SGT DRAM cells, the surrounding gate structure can suppress the floating body effect compared with floating channel type SOI DRAM cells. As a result, the loss of the stored charge in the storage capacitor can be drastically decreased by using FC-SGT DRAM cell. Therefore, FC-SGT DRAM is a promising candidate for future high-density DRAMs having high soft-error immunity.     

New nibbled-page architecture for high-density DRAMs

A nibbled-page architecture which can be used to access all column addresses on the selected row address randomly in units of 8 bits at the 100 Mbit/s data rate is discussed. To realize such high-speed architecture, three key circuit techniques have been developed. An on-chip interleaved circuit has been used for the high-speed serial READ and WRITE operations. Column address prefetch and WE signal prefetch techniques have been introduced to eliminate idle time between 8 bit units. The nibbled-page architecture has been successfully implemented in an experimental 16 Mb DRAM, and 100 Mb/s operation has been achieved. The DRAM with nibbled-page mode is very effective in simplifying the design of high-speed data transfer systems     

Design methodology of embedded DRAM with virtual-socketarchitecture

This paper proposes the virtual-socket architecture in order to reduce the design turn-around time (TAT) of the embedded DRAM. The required memory density and the function of the embedded DRAM are system dependent. In the conventional design, the DRAM control circuitry with the DRAM memory array is handled as a hardware macro, resulting in the increase in design TAT. On the other hand, our proposed architecture provides the DRAM control circuitry as a software macro to take advantage of the automated tools based on synchronous circuit design. With array-generator technology, this architecture can achieve high quality and quick turn-around time (QTAT) of flexible embedded DRAM that is almost the same as the CMOS ASIC. We applied this virtual-socket architecture to the development of the 61-Mb synchronous DRAM core using 0.18-μm design rule and confirmed the high-speed operation, 166 MHz at CAS latency of two, and 180 MHz at that of three. The experimental results show that our proposed architecture can be applied to the development of the high-performance embedded DRAM with design QTAT     

一种新型高速嵌入式动态随机存储器

基于二维器件模拟工具,研究了一种采用栅控二极管作为写操作单元的新型平面无电容动态随机存储器.该器件由一个n型浮栅MOSFET和一个栅控二极管组成.MOSFET的p型掺杂多晶硅浮栅作为栅控二极管的p型掺杂区,同时也是电荷存储单元.写“0”操作通过正向偏置二极管实现,而写“1”操作通过反向偏置二极管,同时在控制栅上加负电压使栅控二极管工作为隧穿场效应晶体管(Tunneling FET)来实现.由于正向偏置二极管和隧穿晶体管开启时接近1μA/μm的电流密度,实现了高速写操作过程,而且该器件的制造工艺与闪烁存储器和逻辑器件的制造兼容,因此适合在片上系统(SOC)中作为嵌入式动态随机存储器使用.     

A configurable DRAM macro design for 2112 derivative organizationsto be synthesized using a memory generator

This paper describes a DRAM macro design from which 2112 configurations up to 32 Mb can be synthesized using a memory generator. The memory generator automatically creates the layout of a DRAM macro in accordance with specification inputs such as memory capacity, address count, bank count, and I/O bits count. An expandable floor layout scheme achieves the macro size comparable to that of handicraft-designed DRAM. The memory generator can customize a configurable redundancy scheme for various macro configurations. Unified testing circuits make it possible to test DRAM macros with more than 500 interface pins in a direct-memory-access mode with 33 test pads. Up to four macros on the same chip can be tested with them. Test chips with 4-Mb DRAM and with 20-Mb DRAM fabricated with 0.35-μm technology showed 150-MHz operation     

Long Retention of Gain-Cell Dynamic Random Access Memory With Undoped Memory Node

Low current leakage characteristics of a novel silicon-on-insulator (SOI) device are investigated in view of application to a gain-cell dynamic random access memory (DRAM). The device consists of a two-layered poly-Si gate. Since, in this device, the memory node is electrically formed by the gate in undoped SOI wire, no p-n junction is required. The retention is found to be dominated by the subthreshold leakage, which leads to long data retention. The device also achieved a fast (10 ns) writing time and its fabrication process is compatible with those of SOI MOSFETs. The present results, thus, strongly suggest a way of conducting a gain-cell DRAM to be embedded into logic circuits     

A study of hot-carrier-induced mismatch drift: a reliability issuefor VLSI circuits

The mismatch drift of dynamic circuits, which must be corrected by precharging before activation, is a fundamental process and device reliability issue for very large scale integration (VLSI) circuits. In this paper, we report the consequences of hot-carrier effects on gate capacitance variation and its impact on the mismatch drift of MOS dynamic circuits. It is shown here that the impact of hot-carrier-induced gate capacitance variation on VLSI circuits is more critical than DC parameter (saturation current, threshold voltage, etc.) degradation. An electron beam probing was performed on a 64 Mb DRAM chip to detect the influence of gate capacitance variation in dynamic circuit blocks before and after hot-carrier stress     

1.5-V single work-function W/WN/n/sup +/-poly gate CMOS device design with 110-nm buried-channel PMOS for 90-nm vertical-cell DRAM

This letter reports on 1.5-V single work-function W/WN/n/sup +/-poly gate CMOS transistors for high-performance stand-alone dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and low-cost low-leakage embedded DRAM applications. At V/sub dd/ Of 1.5-V and 25/spl deg/C, drive currents of 634 /spl mu/A//spl mu/m for 90-nm L/sub gate/ NMOS and 208 /spl mu/A-/spl mu/m for 110-nm L/sub gate/ buried-channel PMOS are achieved at 25 pA//spl mu/m off-state leakage. Device performance of this single work function technology is comparable to published low leakage 1.5-V dual work-function technologies and 25% better than previously reported 1.8-V single work-function technology. Data illustrating hot-carrier immunity of these devices under high electric fields is also presented. Scalability of single work-function CMOS device design for the 90-nm DRAM generation is demonstrated.     

A 1.0-V 230-MHz column access embedded DRAM for portable MPEGapplications

This paper describes a 32-Mb embedded DRAM macro fabricated using 0.13-μm triple-well 4-level Cu embedded DRAM technology, which is suitable for portable equipment of MPEG applications. This macro can operate 230-MHz random column access even at 1.0-V power supply condition. The peak power consumption is suppressed to 198 mW in burst operation. The power-down standby mode, which suppresses the leakage current consumption of peripheral circuitry, is also prepared for portable equipment. With the collaboration of array circuit design and the fine Cu metallization technology, macro size of 18.9 mm² and cell efficiency of 51.3% are realized even with dual interface and triple test functions implemented     

DRAM macros for ASIC chips

DRAM macros in 4-Mb (0.8-μm) and 16-Mb (0.5-μm) DRAM process technology generations have been developed for CMOS ASIC applications. The macros use the same area efficient one transistor trench cells as 4-Mb (SPT cell) and 16-R Mb (MINT cell) DRAM products. It is shown that the trench cells with capacitor plates by the grounded substrate are ideal structures as embedded DRAM's. The trench cells built entirely under the silicon surface allow cost effective DRAM and CMOS logic merged process technologies. In the 0.8-μm rule, the DRAM macro has a 32-K×9-b configuration in a silicon area of 1.7×5.0 mm² . It achieves a 27-ns access and a 50-ns cycle times. The other DRAM macro in the 0.5-μm technology is organized in 64 K×18 b. It has a macro area of 2.1×4.9 mm and demonstrated a 23-ns access and a 40-ns cycle times. Small densities and multiple bit data configurations provide a flexibility to ASIC designs and a wide variety of application capabilities. Multiple uses of the DRAM macros bring significant performance leverages to ASIC chips because of the wide data bus and the fast access and cycle times. A data rate more than 1.3 Gb/s is possible by a single chip. Some examples of actual DRAM macro embedded ASIC chips are shown     

A 128 K×8 70-MHz multiport video RAM with auto registerreload and 8×4 block WRITE feature

An 80-ns 1-Mb multiport video random-access memory (VRAM) can be organized as 128 K×8 or 256 K×4. Uninterrupted serial data streams of 70 MHz are achieved by combining pipelining and interleaving techniques with an internally triggered automatic memory-to-register transfer mechanism. DRAM bandwidth is enhanced by a block WRITE feature which can write as many as four column address locations in every CAS cycle. The write-per-bit feature has been expanded by including an on-chip write-per-bit latch and an extended mode of operation to simplify its use in a wider range of systems. The VRAM is fabricated in a 1 μm CMOS technology using double-level poly/polycide, single level metal, and trench DRAM storage capacitors for high noise immunity     

2.4F2 memory cell technology with stacked-surroundinggate transistor (S-SGT) DRAM

This paper proposes 2.4F² memory cell technology with stacked-surrounding gate transistor (S-SGT) DRAM. One unit of the S-SGT DRAM is formed by stacking several SGT-type cells in series vertically. The SGT-type cell itself arranges gate, source, drain and plate on a silicon pillar vertically. Both gate and plate electrode surround the silicon pillar. Subsequently applied trench etching and sidewall spacer formation during S-SGT DRAM formation causes a step-like silicon pillar structure. Due to these steps, gate, plate and diffusion layer in one S-SGT DRAM unit are fabricated vertically by a self-aligned process. The cell size dependence of the self-aligned-type S-SGT DRAM was analyzed with regard to the above step widths and the number of cells in one unit. As a result, the cell design for minimizing the cell size of this device has been formulated. By using the proposed cell design, it is demonstrated by process simulation that the S-SGT DRAM in 0.5 μm design rule can achieve a cell size of 2.4F², which is half of the cell size of a conventional SGT DRAM cell (4.8F²). Therefore, the S-SGT DRAM is a promising candidate for future ultra high density DRAMs     

Embedded DRAM: more than just a memory

Dynamic random access memory has been a viable semiconductor storage medium for more than three decades. Surprisingly, it has only been in the past three years that attempts to combine DRAM with meaningful amounts of Boolean logic, on the same substrate, have occurred. Although much fanfare has accompanied this technological breakthrough, commonly referred to as embedded DRAM, few system designers appreciate the complexity of this new technology, let alone its applicability to other circuit forms. This article provides background information about embedded DRAM technology, provide suggestions on how structural and electrical elements of the embedded DRAM era might be reused in other circuits, and review circuit theory that is directly attributed to the DRAM technology progression