Comparison of the scaling characteristics of nanoscale SOI N-channel multiple-gate MOSFETs

As MOSFET scaling pushes channel lengths below 65 nm, device designs utilizing fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology and employing two or more gates are becoming increasingly attractive as a means to counteract short channel effects. The presence of multiple gates enhances the total control that the gate exercises on the channel region and the SOI technology allows for a significant reduction in the junction capacitance. In combination, these two factors result in devices that exhibit superior characteristics to the conventional planar MOSFET. This paper compares the variation in the switching performance of the three leading multi-gate MOSFET designs, namely the FinFET, TriGate, and Omega-gate. A 3-dimensional, commercial numerical device simulator is employed to investigate the device characteristics using a common set of material parameters, device physics models, and performance metrics. Examined initially are the short-channel effects including the subthreshold slope (S) and the drain-induced barrier lowering as the gate length is scaled down to 20 nm. Subsequently investigated and compared are the effects of scaling of the fin’s body width and height, the oxide thickness, and channel doping. The investigation reveals that the Omega-gate MOSFET shows the best scaling characteristics at a particular device dimension with the TriGate device showing the least variation in characteristics as device dimensions vary.