Michael Sadd

A Novel Two-Transistor Floating-Body/Gate Cell for Low-Power Nanoscale Embedded DRAM

A novel two-transistor (2T) floating-body cell (FBC) for embedded-DRAM applications is proposed and demonstrated via device/circuit simulations using a process/physics-based compact model, with numerical-simulation support. Significant advantages of the 2T cell, in which the charged/discharged body of one transistor (1T) drives the gate of the other, over the currently popular 1T-DRAM FBC are noted and explained. Furthermore, a modification of the basic 2T-FBC structure, which in essence results in a floating-body/gate cell (FBGC), is shown to yield dramatic reduction in power dissipation in addition to better signal margin, longer data retention, and higher memory density. Design and processing issues that need to be addressed for optimal performance and for sustained FBGC viability in nanoscale CMOS are discussed.

Thermal oxidation of silicon nanocrystals in O2 and NO ambient

We have studied the oxidation of Si nanocrystals as a function of oxidizing ambient, temperature, time, and initial nanocrystal size using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy. Thicker oxide shells are obtained by oxidation in O2 ambient compared with NO ambient. Oxidation in O2 is observed to be self-limiting at temperatures below the viscoelastic temperature of SiO2 because of compressive stress normal to the SiO2/Si interface, which retards the surface oxidation rate. Oxidation in NO also results in self-limiting oxidation due to the incorporation of N at the Si/SiOx interface. This N-rich interfacial layer acts as an effective barrier against oxidant diffusion and also blocks the reaction sites on the Si surface. Therefore, NO oxidation is successful in slowing further oxidation of Si cores, even in a severe oxidizing ambient such as O2 at 1050 °C.

Effects of dopant granularity on superhalo-channel MOSFETs according to two- and three-dimensional computer simulations

We have performed two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) computer simulations of random dopant fluctuations in 25-nm planar n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) with superhalo channel doping. Our study shows that 2-D simulations that neglect lateral percolation of the carriers can overestimate the impact on threshold voltage (V/sub T/) fluctuations by as much as a factor of four. Fundamental differences in the way the 2-D and 3-D models describe subthreshold and near-threshold conduction are highlighted in our study. Our models reveal that surface percolation of carriers is an effective agent for reducing V/sub T/ fluctuations. In addition, the halo only enhances the V/sub T/ fluctuations by approximately 10%. Though the influence of the superhalo in the device may be overwhelmed by atomistic granularity according to the 2-D model, 3-D simulations show that the halo continues to function coherently for the MOSFET ensemble when charge percolation is accounted.