Silicon-gate n-well CMOS process by full ion-implantation technology

A silicon-gate n-well CMOS process for an application of digital circuits operated by TTL compatible supply voltage was developed. Full ion-implantation technology, a new photolithography technique, n⁺-doped polysilicon gate which contain no boron impurities, and thin gate oxide of 65 nm can realize CMOS circuits of 2-µm gate length. Average impurity concentrations measured from substrate bias effect of MOSFET's and junction depth are in good agreement with those expected from impurity profiles calculated by a simple diffusion theory. So, the process design for CMOS circuits operated by any supply voltage is possible, by adjusting threshold voltages. The process can easily be extended to n-MOS/CMOS process (E/D MOS and CMOS on the same chip), if a photomask to fabricate depletion-type n-MOSFET's is provided.     

Fully symmetric cooled CMOS on (110) plane

A cooled CMOS device using dual-polysilicon gates, (110) Si substrates, lightly doped drains with doping concentrations of 10¹⁴ cm^-2, and no channel implant is described. It is found that the peak mobility of a p⁺ polysilicon gate pMOS transistor on a (110) plane is 1.6 times larger than that on a (100) plane at 77 K. This pMOS transistor si very promising for use at 77 K because of its steeper subthreshold slope and higher hole mobility. The design has realized fully symmetrical cooled CMOS devices with 0.8-μm gates in which saturation currents and transductances of both n and pMOS transistors have been almost equalized. This fully symmetric cooled CMOS increases the ring oscillator speed by a factor of 1.2 and allows flexible CMOS circuit design that allows effective use of NOR gates     

Impact of boron penetration at P+-poly/gate oxideinterface on deep-submicron device reliability for dual-gate CMOStechnologies

In this paper, we investigate the onset of boron penetration at the P⁺-poly/gate oxide interface. It is found that conventional detection methods such as shifts in flatband voltage or threshold voltage (V_t) and charge-to-breakdown (Q_BD) performance in accumulation mode failed to reveal boron species near this interface. On the contrary, under constant current stressing with inversion mode bias conditions, significantly lower Q_BD and large V_t shift have been observed due to boron penetration near the P⁺-poly/gate oxide interface. These results suggest that onset of boron penetration at the P⁺ -poly/gate oxide interface does not alter fresh device characteristics, but it induces severe reliability degradation for the gate oxide. Tradeoffs of boron penetration and poly depletion are also studied in this work with different combinations of polysilicon thickness, BF₂ implant energy and dose, and the post-implant RTA temperature     

Titanium nitride local interconnect technology for VLSI

This paper reports on how the self-aligned titanium disilicide process, normally used to simultaneously reduce MOS gate and junction sheet resistances to less than 1 Ω/square, has been extended to provide a layer of local interconnect for VLSI CMOS applications. The local interconnect level has been realized by utilization of the titanium nitride (TIN) layer that forms during the gate and junction silicidation process. Normally the TiN layer is discarded, but in this process the 0.1-µm-thick TiN layer is patterned and etched to provide local connections between polysilicon gates and n⁺and p⁺junctions, with a sheet resistance of less than 10 Ω/ square. This is accomplished without area consuming contacts or metal straps, and without any extra deposition steps. In addition to providing a VLSI version of the buried-contact process, the technology permits the widespread use of self-aligned contacts and minimum geometry junctions. These features significantly reduce parasitic capacitance with the result that the signal propagation delay through a 1-µm CMOS inverter is decreased by 20- 25 percent. The TiN local interconnect process has been successfully demonstrated by the fabrication of a pseudo-static CMOS VLSI memory with nearly half a million 1-µm transistors. A full CMOS 16K SRAM has also been fabricated in which the TiN layer performs the gate to n⁺and p⁺junction cross-coupling function. Application of the technology to achieve a high-density full CMOS SRAM cell, that makes a 256K SRAM chip size of less than 80K mils²feasible with 1-µm design rules, is also discussed.     

Use of the polysilicon gate layer for local interconnect in a CMOStechnology incorporating LDD structures

In conventional single-level polysilicon technologies, the polysilicon gate layer can be used as an interconnect layer through buried contacts between polysilicon and one type of junction (usually n ⁺) in the underlying substrate. The formation and characteristics of buried contacts between n⁺ and p⁺ junctions and a single polysilicon gate layer are discussed. In addition, it is shown that the obstacles posed by the inclusion of oxide-sidewall spacers (common in present-day VLSI CMOS technologies) are surmountable with respect to the formation of useful buried contacts and the resultant local interconnect level that they provide     

Experimental 0.1 μm p-channel MOSFET withp+-polysilicon gate on 35 Å gate oxide

Very-high-transconductance 0.1 μm surface-channel pMOSFET devices are fabricated with p⁺-poly gate on 35 Å-thick gate oxide. A 600 Å-deep p⁺ source-drain extension is used with self-aligned TiSi₂ to achieve low series resistance. The saturation transconductances, 400 mS/mm at 300 K and 500 mS/mm at 77 K, are the highest reported to date for pMOSFET devices     

High-speed low-voltage ring oscillators based on selectively doped heterojunction transistors

We report ring oscillators which attain high speed at low supply voltage, and thus low power. Selectively doped heterojunction transistors (SDHT's) were used in a direct-coupled circuit. The GaAs/ Al.3Ga.7As heterostructure, grown by MBE, was designed to allow self-limiting etch of the gate recesses in the driver transistors. Devices with 1 µm gates operated at supply voltages as low as 0.23 V at T = 300 K. At 77 K, gate delays as low as 14.7 ps were observed at 1.0-V bias.     

Surface accumulated lateral npn BJT's characteristics in SOINMOSFETs

Lateral npn bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) in SOI MOSFET structures are investigated under various gate voltages. Negative resistance caused by base resistance modulation is observed. The surface-accumulated BJT mode is superior to the MOSFET mode in transconductance-to-current ratio and output resistance. Scaling properties are also discussed together with the need for a P⁺ polysilicon gate     

Threshold voltage-minimum gate length trade-off in buried channelPMOS devices for scaled supply voltage CMOS technologies

The trade-off between threshold voltage (V_th) and the minimum gate length (L_min) is discussed for optimizing the performance of buried channel PMOS transistors for low voltage/low power high-speed digital CMOS circuits. In a low supply voltage CMOS technology it is desirable to scale V_th and L_min for improved circuit performance. However, these two parameters cannot be scaled independently due to the channel punch-through effect. Statistical process/device modeling, split lot experiments, circuit simulations, and measurements are performed to optimize the PMOS transistor current drive and CMOS circuit speed. We show that trading PMOS transistor V_th for a smaller L_min results in faster circuits for low supply voltage (3.3 to 1.8 V) n⁺-polysilicon gate CMOS technology, Circuit simulation and measurements are performed in this study. Approximate empirical expressions are given for the optimum buried channel PMOS transistor V _th for minimizing CMOS circuit speed for cases involving: (1) constant capacitive load and (2) load capacitance proportional to MOS gate capacitance. The results of the numerical exercise are applied to the centering of device parameters of a 0.5 μm 3.3 V CMOS technology that (a) matches the speed of our 0.5 μm 5 V CMOS technology, and (b) achieves good performance down to 1.8 V power supply. For this process the optimum PMOS transistor V_th (absolute value) is approximately 0.85-0.90 V     

1.0-µm n-well CMOS/bipolar technology

High-performance 1.0-µm n-well CMOS/bipolar on-chip technology was developed. For process simplicity, an n-well and a collector of bipolar transistors were formed simultaneously, and base and NMOS channel regions were also made simultaneously resulting in collector-isolated vertical n-p-n bipolar transistor fabrication without any additional process step to CMOS process. On the other hand, 1.0-µm CMOS with a new "hot carrier resistant" self-defined polysilicon sidewall spacer (SEPOS) LDD NMOS was developed. It can operate safely under supply voltage over 5 V without performance degradation of CMOS circuits. By evaluating ring oscillators and differential amplifiers constructed by both CMOS and bipolar transistors, it can be concluded that in a digital and in an analog combined system, CMOS has sufficiently high-speed performance for digital parts, while bipolar is superior for analog parts. In addition, bipolar transistors with an n⁺-buried layer were also fabricated to reduce collector resistance. Concerning the bipolar input/output buffers, the patterned n⁺-buried layer improves the drivability and high-frequency response. As a result, the applications of n-well CMOS/bipolar technology become clear. This technology was successfully applied to a high-speed 64-kbit CMOS static RAM, and improvement in access time was observed.     

Use of sacrificial spacers for fabricating LDD transistors in a CMOS process

The use of sacrificial spacers for LDD transistors in a CMOS process is described. LPCVD nitride or PSG is employed as the sidewall-spacer material which is selectively etched off after the LDD's n-/n+ junction formation, thus allowing subsequent shallow p+ implant self-aligning to the polysilicon gate. Deeper n-/n+ junctions with adequate drain/gate overlap for n-channel LDD transistors to minimise hot-electron effects can then be made while simultaneously the shallow p+ junction with high punch-through immunity is preserved for p-channel transistors. The conflicting diffusion requirements in forming n-/n+ and p+ source-drain junction depths are therefore decoupled.     

Hot hole gate current in surface channel PMOSFETs

This paper reports the observation of a new hot hole component of the gate current of p⁺-poly gate pMOS transistors. The phenomenon is characterized as a function of drain, gate, and substrate bias on devices featuring different oxide thickness and drain engineering options. The new hole gate current component is ascribed to injection into the oxide of substrate tertiary holes, generated by an impact ionization feedback mechanism similar to that responsible of CHannel Initiated Secondary ELectron injection (CHISEL) in nMOSFETs     

Advanced model and analysis of series resistance for CMOS scalinginto nanometer regime. I. Theoretical derivation

An advanced series resistance model is developed to accurately predict source/drain (S/D) series resistance of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) in the nanometer regime. The series resistance is modeled by division into four resistance components named SDE-to-gate overlap, S/D extension, deep S/D, and silicide-diffusion contact resistance, considering the nonnegligible doping-dependent potential relationship in MOS accumulation region due to scaled supply voltage, current behavior related to heavily doped ultra-shallow source/drain extension (SDE) junction, polysilicon gate depletion effects (PDE), lateral and vertical doping gradient effect of SDE junction, silicide-diffusion contact structure, and high-κ dielectric sidewall. The proposed model well characterizes unique features of nanometer-scale CMOS and is useful for analyzing the effect of source/drain parameters on CMOS device scaling and optimization     

SATPOLY: a self-aligned tungsten on polysilicon process for CMOSVLSI applications

The use of complementarily doped n⁺ and p⁺ polysilicon has been proposed for future generations of CMOS technology. The implementation of this technology requires low-resistance shunts both to reduce the overall resistance of the gate level interconnections and to short out the polysilicon p-n junctions. A process in which tungsten is chosen to provide the low-resistance shunts, with the necessary gate sidewall spacers formed before the selective deposition of tungsten, is described. A nonselective tungsten deposition process, originally developed explicitly for the implementation of direct tungsten gate MOS technology, is a key step in the formation of the spacers in the SATPOLY (self-aligned tungsten on polysilicon) process. The work function stability and the adhesion of the tungsten-polysilicon double-layer structure as a function of the polysilicon glue layer thickness have also been investigated     

TaSi2gate for VLSI CMOS circuits

It is shown, that lateral shrinkage of 2-µm CMOS devices and reduction of the gate oxide thickness to about 20 nm is significantly facilitated by replacing the n⁺-poly-Si or polycide gates by TaSi2. Due to its higher work function, TaSi2allows the simultaneous reduction of the channel doping in the n-channel and the charge compensation in the p-channel without changing the threshold voltages. Thus compared with n⁺-poly-Si gate n-channel transistors substrate sensitivity and substrate current are reduced, and low-level breakdown strength is raised. In p-channel transistors, the subthreshold current behavior and UT(L)-dependence are improved. Consequently, the channel length of both n- and p-channel transistors can be reduced by about 0.5 µm without significant degradation. The MOS characteristics Nss, flatband and threshold voltage stability, and dielectric strength appear similar for TaSi2and n+-poly Si gate transistors.     

Design and performance of 0.1-μm CMOS devices usinglow-impurity-channel transistors (LICT's)

0.1-μm CMOS devices using low-impurity-channel transistors (LICTs) with dual-polysilicon gates have been fabricated by nondoped epitaxial growth technology, high-pressure oxidation of field oxide, and electron-beam lithography. These devices, with gate lengths of 0.135 μm, achieved normal transistor operation at both 300 and 77 K using 1.5-V supply voltage. Maximum transconductances are 203 mS/mm for nMOS transistors and 124 mS/mm for pMOS transistors at 300 K. Low-impurity channels grown on highly doped wells provide low threshold voltages of about 0.35 V for nMOS transistors and about -0.15 V for pMOS transistors at 77 K, and preserve good turn-offs with subthreshold swings of 25 mV/decade at 77 K. LICTs suppress short-channel effects more effectively, compared with conventional devices with nearly uniform dopings     

Process integration and device performance of a submicrometerBiCMOS with 16-GHz ft double poly-bipolar devices

Submicrometer-channel CMOS devices have been integrated with self-aligned double-polysilicon bipolar devices showing a cutoff frequency of 16 GHz. n-p-n bipolar transistors and p-channel MOSFETs were built in an n-type epitaxial layer on an n⁺ buried layer, and n-channel MOSFETs were built in a p-well on a p⁺ buried layer. Deep trenches with depths of 4 μm and widths of 1 μm isolated the n-p-n bipolar transistors and the n- and p-channel MOSFETs from each other. CMOS, BiCMOS, and bipolar ECL circuits were characterized and compared with each other in terms of circuit speed as a function of loading capacitance, power dissipation, and power supply voltage. The BiCMOS circuit showed a significant speed degradation and became slower than the CMOS circuit when the power supply voltage was reduced below 3.3 V. The bipolar ECL circuit maintained the highest speed, with a propagation delay time of 65 ps for C_L=0 pF and 300 ps for C_L=1.0 pF with a power dissipation of 8 mW per gate. The circuit speed improvements in the CMOS circuits as the effective channel lengths of the MOS devices were scaled from 0.8 to 0.4 μm were maintained at almost the same ratio     

High-performance dual-gate CMOS utilizing a novel self-alignedpocket implantation (SPI) technology

A self-aligned pocket implantation (SPI) technology is discussed. This technology features a localized pocket implantation using the gate and drain electrodes (TiSi₂ film) as well as self-aligned masks. The gate polysilicon is patterned by KrF excimer laser lithography. The measured minimum gate length L_g (the physical gate length) is 0.21 μm for both N- and P-MOSFETs. A newly developed photoresist was used to achieve less than quarter-micrometer patterns. This process provides high punchthrough resistance and high current driving capability even in such a short channel length. The subthreshold slope of the 0.21-μm gate length is 76 mV/dec for N-MOSFETs and 83 mV/dec for P-MOSFETs. The SPI technology maintains a low impurity concentration in the well (less than 5×10 ¹⁶ cm^-3). The drain junction capacitance is decreased by 36% for N-MOSFETs and by 41% for P-MOSFETs, compared to conventional LDD devices, which results in high-speed circuit operation. The delay time per stage of a 51-stage dual-gate CMOS ring oscillator is 50 ps with a supply voltage of 3.3 V and a gate length of 0.36 μm, and 40 ps with a supply voltage of 2.5 V and a gate length of 0.21 μm     

TFSOI complementary BiCMOS technology for low power applications

A Thin-Film-Silicon-On-Insulator Complementary BiCMOS (TFSOI CBiCMOS) technology has been developed for low power applications. The technology is based on a manufacturable, near-fully-depleted 0.5 μm CMOS process with the lateral bipolar devices integrated as drop-in modules for CBiCMOS circuits. The near-fully-depleted CMOS device design minimizes sensitivity to silicon thickness variation while maintaining the benefits of SOI devices. The bipolar device structure emphasizes use of a silicided polysilicon base contact to reduce base resistance and minimize current crowding effects. A split-oxide spacer integration allows independent control of the bipolar base width and emitter contact spacing. Excellent low power performance is demonstrated through low current ECL and low voltage, low power CMOS circuits. A 70 ps ECL gate delay at a gate current of 20 μA is achieved. This represents a factor of 3 improvement over bulk trench-isolated double-polysilicon self-aligned bipolar circuits. Similarly, CMOS gate delay shows a factor of 2 improvement over bulk silicon at a power supply voltage of 3.3 V. Finally, a 460 μW 1 GHz prescaler circuit is demonstrated using this technology