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Veeresh Deshpande

Scaling beyond Moore: Single Electron Transistor (SET) and Single Atom Transistor Integration on CMOS

Published on 27 September 2012
Thesis presented September 27, 2012

Abstract:
Continuous scaling of MOSFET dimensions has led us to the era of nanoelectronics. Multigate FET (MuGFET) architecture with ‘nanowire channel' is being considered as one feasible enabler of MOSFET scaling to end-of-roadmap. Alongside classical CMOS or Moore's law scaling, many novel device proposals exploiting nanoscale phenomena have been made either. Single Electron Transistor (SET), with its unique ‘Coulomb Blockade' phenomena, and Single Atom Transistor (SAT), as an ultimately scaled transistor, are prime nanoelectronic devices for novel applications like multivalued logic, quantum computing etc. Though SET was initially proposed as a substitute for CMOS (‘Beyond CMOS device'), it is now widely considered as a compliment to CMOS technology to enable novel functional circuits. However, the low operation temperature and non-CMOS fabrication process have been major limitations for SET integration with FET. This thesis makes an effort at combining scaled CMOS, SET and SAT through a single integration scheme enabling trigate nanowire-FET, SET or SAT. In this work, for the first time, fabrication of room temperature operating SET on state-of-the-art SOI CMOS technology (featuring high-k/metal gate) is demonstrated. Room temperature operation of SET requires an island (or channel) with dimensions of 5 nm or less. This is achieved through reduction of trigated nanowire channel to around 5 nm in width. Further study of carrier transport mechanisms in the device is carried out through cryogenic conductance measurements. Three dimensional NEGF simulations are also employed to optimize SET design. As a step further, cointegration of FDSOI MOSFET and SET on the same die is carried out. Room temperature hybrid SET-FET circuits enabling amplification of SET current to micro-ampere range (proposed as ‘SETMOS device' in literature), negative differential resistance (NDR) and multivalued logic are shown. Alongside this, on the same technology, a Single Atom Transistor working at cryogenic temperature is also demonstrated. This is achieved through scaling of MOSFET channel length to around 10 nm that enables having a single dopant atom in channel (diffused from source or drain). At low temperature, electron transport through the energy state of this single dopant is studied. These devices also work as scaled MOSFETs at room temperature. Therefore, a novel analysis method is developed correlating 300 K characteristics with cryogenic measurements to understand the impact of single dopant on scaled MOSFET at room temperature.

Keywords:
Single Atom Transistor, CMOS Technology, Room temperature, Nanowire MOSFET, Single Electron Transistor

On-line thesis.