Direct tunnelling gate leakage variability in nano-CMOS transistors

Markov, S., Roy, S. and Asenov, A. (2010) Direct tunnelling gate leakage variability in nano-CMOS transistors. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, 57(11), pp. 3106-3114. (doi: 10.1109/TED.2010.2075932)

Abstract

A comprehensive simulation methodology for the systematic study of gate leakage variability in realistic nanoscale bulk CMOS transistors, on a statistical scale, is presented for the first time. This is based on the Glasgow “atomistic” 3-D drift-diffusion device simulator with density-gradient quantum corrections, which is capable of modeling various sources of stochastic variability, including random dopant fluctuations (RDFs) and oxide thickness fluctuations (OTFs). The capabilities of the simulator are extended to model direct tunnelling of electrons through the gate dielectric by means of an improved Wentzel-Kramer-Brillouin approximation with one model parameter only. The methodology is applied for the detailed study of the gate leakage variability arising from RDFs and OTFs in a 25-nm square-gate n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor with conventional architecture. The origins of gate leakage variability and gate current increase due to RDFs and OTFs individually, and in combination, are analyzed for bias conditions that are relevant to static power dissipation in digital CMOS circuits.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Markov, Dr Stanislav and Roy, Professor Scott and Asenov, Professor Asen
• Authors: Markov, S., Roy, S., and Asenov, A.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering
• Journal Name: IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• ISSN: 0018-9383
• Published Online: 21 October 2010

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
44379	1	Atomic scale simulation of nanoelectronic devices	Asen Asenov	Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)	EP/E038344/1	Electronic and Nanoscale Engineering