CE222 - Digital Integrated Circuit Design

Nguyen Tran Son

ntsonvldt@gmail.com

Feb 01, 2023

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 1 / 26

CMOS Transistor Theory

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 2 / 26

 Outline

1 Structure of MOSFET

2 Formation of Channel

3 MOSFET Characteristics
Operation Regions
IV relationship
Parasitic Capacitance
Source - Drain Resistance

4 Second order Effects

Body-Bias Effect
Channel length modulation
Velocity Saturation Effect
Hot Carrier Effect

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 3 / 26

Prefixes Used for Large or Small Physical Quantities

Table: Prefixes Used for Large or Small Physical Quantities

Prefix Abbreviation Scale Factor

giga- G 109
meg- or mega- M 106
kilo- k 103
milli- m 10−3
micro- µ 10−6
nano- n 10−9
pico- p 10−12
femto- f 10−15

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 4 / 26

 Structure and Symbol of MOSFET

This device is symmetric, so either of the n+ regions can

be source or drain.

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 5 / 26

State of the Art MOSFET Structure: NMOS

Source/Drain: n+ (n - Diffusion)
The gate is formed by polysilicon, and the insulator
by Silicon dioxide.

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 6 / 26

State of the Art MOSFET Structure: PMOS

Source/Drain: p+ (p - Diffusion)

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 7 / 26

MOSFET Symbol

D: Drain
G: Gate
S: Source
B: Bulk/Body

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 8 / 26

 Formation of Channel

First, the holes are repelled by the positive gate

voltage, leaving behind negative ions and forming a
depletion region. Next, electrons are attracted to the
interface, creating a channel ("inversion layer").

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 9 / 26

MOSFET Characteristics

NMOS Cutoff:
VGS < VT H
ID ≈ 0

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 10 / 26

 MOSFET Characteristics
NMOS Linear:
VGS ≥ VT H and VDS ≤ VGS − VT H
W 2 
VDS
ID = µn COX (VGS − VT H )VDS −
L 2

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 11 / 26

MOSFET Characteristics
NMOS Saturation:
VGS > VT H and VDS ≥ VGS − VT H
1 W
ID = µn COX (VGS − VT H )2
2 L

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 12 / 26

 MOSFET Characteristics

IDS vs. VDS Relationship

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 13 / 26

MOSFET Characteristics

IDS vs. VGS Relationship

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 14 / 26

 MOSFET Parasitic Capacitance
Parasitic Capacitance:
Cg = Cgc + Cgb + Cgs + Cgd

Capacitance Cut-off Linear Saturation

Cgb COX W L 0 0
Cgd COX W LD COX W L/2 + COX W LD COX W LD
Cgs COX W LD COX W L/2 + COX W LD 2COX W L/3 + COX W LD

LD :lateral diffusion length (overlap)

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 15 / 26

Source - Drain Resistance

Source - Drain Resistance:
The performance of a CMOS circuit may further be
affected by another set of parasitic elements, being the
resistances in series with the drain and source regions

L
RDS = R□ + RC
W
R□ : sheet resistance per square of the drain-source
diffusion
RC : contact resistance

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 16 / 26

 MOSFET Characteristics

N-channel MOSFET EQUATION:

Cut Off VGS ≤ VT IDS ≈ 0

 
2
VDS
Linear VGS > VT , IDS = µn COX W
L
(VGS − VT )VDS − 2
VDS ≤ VGS − VT

1 W
Saturation VGS > VT , IDS = µ C
2 n OX L
(VGS − VT )2
VDS > VGS − VT

P-channel MOSFET EQUATION:

Cut Off VSG ≤ |VT | ISD ≈ 0

 
2
VSD
Linear VSG > |VT |, ISD = µp COX W
L
(VSG − |VT |)VSD − 2
VSD ≤ VSG − |VT |

1 W
Saturation VSG > |VT |, IDS = µ C
2 p OX L
(VSG − |VT |)2
VSD > VSG − |VT |

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 17 / 26

Second-Order Effects

The above equations constitute the most basic MOS IV

model
"Long channel model", "Quadratic model", "Low
field model"
Unfortunately it doesn’t describe modern CMOS devices
accurately
Pushing towards extremely small geometries has
resulted in very high electric fields
The above simple CMOS theory can’t describe
MOSFET operation correctly
Other second order dependencies arise

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 18 / 26

 Body-Bias Effect

Body-bias effects: occur when a voltage VSB exists

between the source and bulk terminals.
p p
VT = VT 0 + γ( 2|ϕF | + VSB − 2|ϕF |)
γ: body-bias coefficient (Unit: V 1/2 ), positive for NMOS
ϕF : Fermi potential, negative for NMOS
1. The depletion region is widen;
2. This, in turn, will decrease the channel depth.

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 19 / 26

Channel length modulation

IV Characteristic:

1 W
IDS = µn COX (VGS − VT )2 (1 + λVDS )
2 L

λ = VDS ∆L/L

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 20 / 26

 Channel length modulation (Cont.)
IV Characteristic:

1 W
IDS = µn COX (VGS − VT )2 (1 + λVDS )
2 L

λ = VDS ∆L/L

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 21 / 26

Velocity Saturation Effect

When the electric field reaches a critical value EC ,

(1.5 × 106 V/m for p-type silicon) the velocity of the
carriers tends to saturate (105 m/s for silicon) due to
scattering effects.

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 22 / 26

 Velocity Saturation Effect

Short channel devices display an extended saturation

region due to velocity-saturation

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 23 / 26

Hot Carrier Effect

During the last decades transistors dimensions were

scaled down, but not the power supply.
The resulting increase in the electric field strength
causes an increasing energy of the electrons.
Some electrons are able to leave the silicon and
tunnel into the gate oxide.
Such electrons are called "Hot carriers".
Electrons trapped in the oxide change the VT of
the transistors.
This leads to a long term reliability problem.
For an electron to become hot an electric field of 104
V/cm is necessary.
This condition is easily met with channel lengths
below 1µm.
Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 24 / 26
 Hot Carrier Effect

Hot carrier effects cause the I-V characteristics of an

NMOS transistor to degrade from extensive usage.

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 25 / 26

Questions?

Thank you !

Nguyen Tran Son (∞) CMOS Theory Feb 01, 2023 26 / 26