Nupur Navlakha

Improving retention time in tunnel field effect transistor based dynamic memory by back gate engineering

In this work, we report on the impact of position, bias, and workfunction of back gate on retention time of Tunnel Field Effect Transistor (TFET) based dynamic memory in ultra thin buried oxide and Double Gate (DG) transistors. The front gate of the TFET is aligned at a partial portion of the semiconductor film and controls the read mechanism based on band-to-band tunneling. The back gate is engineered to improve the performance of the dynamic cell by positioning it at the region uncovered by the front gate where it forms a deep potential well. The physical well formed by the back gate misalignment is made more profound by using a p+ poly workfunction as it accumulates more holes in the storage region and forms a deep potential well that sustains holes for longer duration, thereby increasing the retention time. The retention time is also governed by the generation and recombination phenomenon which can be controlled through the applied bias at the back gate. The retention time attained is ∼2 s at a temperature of 85 °C through optimal back gate engineering in DG transistors. The work shows innovative viewpoints of transforming gate misalignment, traditionally considered detrimental into a unique opportunity, coupled with appropriate selection of back gate workfunction and bias to significantly improve the retention time of capacitorless dynamic memory.

Improved Retention Time in Twin Gate 1T DRAM With Tunneling Based Read Mechanism

We report a twin gate tunnel field effect transistor-based capacitorless dynamic memory with improved retention characteristics through well-calibrated simulations. The first front gate of the twin gate architecture regulates the read mechanism based on band-to-band tunneling whereas the second front gate creates and maintains a dedicated volume for the charge storage near the drain region. The profound well along with the optimized bias values aid to attain a retention time (RT) of ~1.5 s at 85°C. Systematic analysis shows that the storage region can be scaled down to 50 nm with further improvement in RT by using an underlap region between drain and second gate. Optimally designed twin gate device exhibits an improved RT at higher temperature (125°C).

Twin gate Tunnel FET based capacitorless dynamic memory

The work presents insights into operation, design and optimization of twin gate Tunnel Field Effect Transistor (TFET) for dynamic memory. The architecture utilizes two front gates, with the first gate aligned to source and responsible for read mechanism based on Band-to-Band Tunneling (BTBT), while the second gate regulates the creation and maintenance of dedicated volume for charge storage. The twin gate based dynamic memory at optimized bias values exhibits enhanced retention time of 370 ms at 85 °C and 1.3 s at 27 °C for gate lengths of 100 nm with better scalability, reliable operation at higher temperatures, and reduced write time of 5 ns.

Overcoming the drawback of lower sense margin in tunnel FET based dynamic memory along with enhanced charge retention and scalability

The work reports on the use of a planar tri-gate tunnel field effect transistor (TFET) to operate as dynamic memory at 85 °C with an enhanced sense margin (SM). Two symmetric gates (G1) aligned to the source at a partial region of intrinsic film result into better electrostatic control that regulates the read mechanism based on band-to-band tunneling, while the other gate (G2), positioned adjacent to the first front gate is responsible for charge storage and sustenance. The proposed architecture results in an enhanced SM of ∼1.2 μA μm-1 along with a longer retention time (RT) of ∼1.8 s at 85 °C, for a total length of 600 nm. The double gate architecture towards the source increases the tunneling current and also reduces short channel effects, enhancing SM and scalability, thereby overcoming the critical bottleneck faced by TFET based dynamic memories. The work also discusses the impact of overlap/underlap and interface charges on the performance of TFET based dynamic memory. Insights into device operation demonstrate that the choice of appropriate architecture and biases not only limit the trade-off between SM and RT, but also result in improved scalability with drain voltage and total length being scaled down to 0.8 V and 115 nm, respectively.

Insights into operation of planar tri-gate tunnel field effect transistor for dynamic memory application

Insights into device physics and operation through the control of energy barriers are presented for a planar tri-gate Tunnel Field Effect Transistor (TFET) based dynamic memory. The architecture consists of a double gate (G1) at the source side and a single gate (G2) at the drain end of the silicon film. Dual gates (G1) effectively enhance the tunneling based read mechanism through the enhanced coupling and improved electrostatic control over the channel. The single gate (G2) controls the holes in the potential barrier induced through the proper selection of bias and workfunction. The results indicate that the planar tri-gate achieves optimum performance evaluated in terms of two composite metrics (M1 and M2), namely, product of (i) Sense Margin (SM) and Retention Time (RT) i.e., M1 = SM × RT and (ii) Sense Margin and Current Ratio (CR) i.e., M2 = SM × CR. The regulation of barriers created by the gates (G1 and G2) through the optimal use of device parameters leads to better performance metrics, with significant improvement at scaled lengths as compared to other tunneling based dynamic memory architectures. The investigation shows that lengths of G1, G2 and lateral spacing can be scaled down to 25 nm, 50 nm, and 30 nm, respectively, while achieving reasonable values for (M1, M2). The work demonstrates a systematic approach to showcase the advancement in TFET based Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) through the use of planar tri-gate topology at a lower bias value. The concept, design, and operation of planar tri-gate architecture provide valuable viewpoints for TFET based DRAM.Insights into device physics and operation through the control of energy barriers are presented for a planar tri-gate Tunnel Field Effect Transistor (TFET) based dynamic memory. The architecture consists of a double gate (G1) at the source side and a single gate (G2) at the drain end of the silicon film. Dual gates (G1) effectively enhance the tunneling based read mechanism through the enhanced coupling and improved electrostatic control over the channel. The single gate (G2) controls the holes in the potential barrier induced through the proper selection of bias and workfunction. The results indicate that the planar tri-gate achieves optimum performance evaluated in terms of two composite metrics (M1 and M2), namely, product of (i) Sense Margin (SM) and Retention Time (RT) i.e., M1 = SM × RT and (ii) Sense Margin and Current Ratio (CR) i.e., M2 = SM × CR. The regulation of barriers created by the gates (G1 and G2) through the optimal use of device parameters leads to better performance metrics, with sign...