MODULE -1 ANALOG VLSI DESIGN]

MODULE – I
MOS Device Basics and Operation:
• MOS I/V Characteristics: Threshold voltage, derivation of I/V characteristics, regions of operation, MOS
Transconductance
• Second order effects: Body effect, Channel Length Modulation, Sub Threshold Conduction
• MOS Device Models: MOS device capacitances, MOS large signal model, MOS small signal model-basic, with
channel length modulation, with body effect.
• MOS Scaling Theory
• MOS Short Channel Effects: Threshold Voltage Variation, Mobility degradation, velocity saturation, Hot carrier
effects, Output impedance variation

MOS Device Basics and Operation

MOSFET stands for Metal Oxide Silicon Field Effect Transistor or Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect
Transistor. A MOSFET is a four-terminal device having source(S), gate (G), drain (D) and body (B) terminals. In
general, The body of the MOSFET is in connection with the source terminal thus forming a three-terminal device
such as a field-effect transistor.
The MOSFET (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor) transistor is a semiconductor device that is widely
used for switching purposes and for the amplification of electronic signals in electronic devices.

TYPES OF MOSFETS
1. Enhancement type MOSFET
— N-channel Enhancement type
— P-channel Enhancement type
2. Depletion type MOSFET
— N-channel Depletion type
— P-channel Depletion type

The construction of an enhancement-type MOSFET is quite similar to that of the depletion-type MOSFET, except for the
absence of a channel between the drain and source terminals. This is the primary difference between the construction of
depletion-type and enhancement-type MOSFETs—the absence of a channel as a constructed component of the device.

Such a “normally on” device is called a depletion-mode transistor, since gate voltage is used to deplete a channel
which exists at equilibrium. The more common MOS transistor is “normally off” with zero gate voltage, and operates
in the enhancement mode by applying gate voltage large enough to induce a conducting channel.

Operation of Enhancement type MOSFET

When a positive voltage is applied to the gate relative to the substrate (which is connected to the source in this case),
positive charges are in effect deposited on the gate metal. In response, negative charges are induced in the underlying
Si, by the formation of a depletion region and a thin surface region containing mobile electrons. These induced
electrons form the channel of the FET, and allow current to flow from drain to source.

The threshold voltage VT is the minimum gate voltage required to induce the channel. In general, the positive gate
voltage of an n-channel device must be larger than VT before a conducting channel is induced. Similarly, a p-
channel device (made on an n-type substrate with p-type source and drain implants or diffusions) requires a gate
voltage more negative than some threshold value to induce the required positive charge (mobile holes) in the
channel.

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If the (positive) gate voltage exceeds the threshold voltage in an n-channel device, electrons are induced in the p-type
substrate. Since this channel is connected to the n+ source and drain regions, the structure looks electrically like an
induced n-type resistor. As the gate voltage increases, more electron charge is induced in the channel and, therefore,
the channel becomes more conducting. The drain current initially increases linearly with the drain bias (the linear
regime)
Once the drain bias is increased to the point that (VGS >=VDS) , threshold is barely maintained near the drain end,
and the channel is said to be pinched off. Increasing the drain bias beyond this point (VD (sat.)) causes the point at
which the channel gets pinched off to move more and more into the channel, closer to the source end Electrons in the
channel are pulled into the pinch-off region and travel at the saturation drift velocity because of the very high
longitudinal electric field along the channel. Now, the drain current is said to be in the saturation region because it
does not increase with drain bias significantly.

MOS I/V Characteristics and regions of operation

MOSFET Output Characteristics

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Transfer Characteristics
The output characteristics plot the drain current as a function of the drain bias, with gate bias as a parameter .On the
other hand, the transfer characteristics plot the output drain current as a function of the input gate bias, for fixed drain
bias the linear region, ID vs. VG should be a straight line .

Threshold Voltage

The threshold voltage is defined as the minimum voltage that has to be applied at the gate terminal to create a
strong inversion condition at the Si-SiO2 interface and hence to form a channel. It depends on many parameters
such as follows.

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Modification of threshold voltage for non-ideal MOS structures

When MOS devices are made using typical materials (e.g., n+ polysilicon/SiO2-Si), departures from the ideal
case can strongly affect VT and other properties. First, there is a work function difference between the metal gate
and substrate, which depends on the substrate doping. Second, there are inevitably charges at the Si-SiO2 interface
and within the oxide which must be taken into account.

Derivation of I/V characteristics

MOSFET
DRAIN-TO-SOURCE CURRENT (Ids ) versus VOLTAGE Vds RELATIONSHIPS

➢ The gate to induce a charge in the channel between source and drain, which may then be caused to move
from source to drain under the influence of an electric field created by voltage V ds applied between drain
and source.

➢ Since the charge induced is dependent on the gate to source voltage Vgs then Ids is dependent on both Vgs
and Vds·

Consider a structure, as in Figure, in which electrons will flow source to drain:

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The Non-saturated Region( Linear region)

➢ Charge induced in channel due to gate voltage is due to the voltage difference between the gate and the
channel, Vgs (assuming substrate connected to source).
➢ The voltage along the channel varies linearly with distance X from the source due to the IR drop in the
channel and assuming that the device is not saturated then the average value is V ds/2.

➢ The effective gate voltage Vg = Vgs – VT where VT is the threshold voltage needed to invert the charge
under the gate and establish the channel.

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The Saturated Region

Saturation begins when Vds = Vgs – VT since at this point the IR drop in the channel equals the effective gate
to channel voltage at the drain and the current remains fairly constant as Vds increases further. Thus

MOS Transconductance
Since a MOSFET operating in saturation produces a current in response to its gate-
source overdrive voltage, we can define a figure of merit that indicates how well a
device converts a voltage to a current. More specifically , we define the figure of
merit as the change in the drain current divided by the change in the gate-source
voltage. Called the “transconductance” (and usually defined in the saturation region)
and denoted by gm, this quantity is expressed as

gm represents the sensitivity of the device: for a high gm, a small change in VGS
results in a large change in ID. We express gm in 1/Ω or in siemens (S); e.g., gm =
1/(100 Ω) = 0.01 S. In analog design, we sometimes say a MOSFET operates as a
“transconductor” or a “V/I converter” to indicate
that it converts a voltage change to a current change. gm in the saturation region is
equal tothe inverse of Ron in the deep triode region.

Second order effects

Body Effect (Back Bias)

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Body effect refers to the change in the transistor threshold voltage (VT) resulting from a voltage
difference between the transistor source and body. Body effect degrades transistor performance.
Body effect occurs when body or substrate of transistor is not biased at same level as that of
source. Body effect occurs when the body or substrate of the transistor is not biased at the same
level as that of the source. And this voltage difference between source and bulk leads to an
increase or decrease of the threshold voltage.

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Channel Length Modulation (CLM)

Channel length modulation (CLM) is a shortening of the length of the inverted channel region with increase in
drain bias( VDS) for large drain biases.Change or reduction in channel length due to increase in Drain to Source
Voltage in the saturation region, the actual length of the channel gradually decreases as the potential difference
between the gate and the drain decreases. In other words, , L is in fact a function of VDS. This effect is called
channel-length modulation
In the saturation region the drain current, I D is independent of the drain-source voltage, VDS. This is the reason
for the flat curve after pinch off in the drain characteristics. But when the drain voltage is increased to VDSsat=
Vgs — Vt, the depletion layer width at the drain end increases so that the effective channel length get reduced.
This effect of reducing the effective channel length by the drain voltage, V DS is called channel length modulation.
Drain current inversely proportional to the channel length, IDS increases with decrease in channel length.

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