Week 8b
OUTLINE
Using pn-diodes to isolate transistors in an IC
The metal-oxide-field-effect transistor (MOSFET)
Structure of the MOSFET
The MOSFET as a controlled resistance
Pinch-off and current saturation in the MOSFET
Channel-length modulation
Velocity saturation in a short-channel MOSFET
Reading
Rabaey et al. Ch. 3.3.1-3.3.2
Hambley Ch. 12.1
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 1
Prof. White
Why are pn Junctions Important for ICs?
• The basic building block in digital ICs is the
MOS transistor, whose structure contains
reverse-biased diodes.
– pn junctions are important for electrical isolation of
transistors located next to each other at the
surface of a Si wafer.
– The junction capacitance of these diodes can limit
the performance (operating speed) of digital
circuits
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 2
Prof. White
Device Isolation using pn Junctions
regions of n-type Si
a
b
n
n
n
n
n
p-type Si
No current flows if voltages are applied between n-type
regions, because two pn junctions are “back-to-back”
n-region
a
b
n-region
p-region
=> n-type regions isolated in p-type substrate and vice versa
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 3
Prof. White
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 4
Prof. White
Transistor A
Transistor B
n
n
n
n
p-type Si
We can build large circuits consisting of many transistors
without worrying about current flow between devices. The
p-n junctions isolate the transistors because there is
always at least one reverse-biased p-n junction in every
potential current path.
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 5
Prof. White
Modern Field Effect Transistor (FET)
• An electric field is applied normal to the surface of the
semiconductor (by applying a voltage to an overlying
“gate” electrode), to modulate the conductance of the
semiconductor
 Modulate drift current flowing between 2 contacts
(“source” and “drain”) by varying the voltage on the
“gate” electrode
Metal-oxide-semiconductor
(MOS) FET:
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 6
Prof. White
MOSFET
• NMOS: N-channel Metal
Oxide Semiconductor
W
• L = channel length
• W = channel width
GATE
L
“Metal” (heavily
doped poly-Si)
DRAIN
SOURCE
• A GATE electrode is placed above (electrically insulated
from) the silicon surface, and is used to control the
resistance between the SOURCE and DRAIN regions
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 7
Prof. White
N-channel MOSFET
Gate
Source
IS
IG
Drain
gate
oxide insulator
n
ID
n
p
• Without a gate-to-source voltage applied, no current can
flow between the source and drain regions.
• Above a certain gate-to-source voltage (threshold
voltage VT), a conducting layer of mobile electrons is
formed at the Si surface beneath the oxide. These
electrons can carry current between the source and drain.
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 8
Prof. White
N-channel vs. P-channel MOSFETs
NMOS
PMOS
n+ poly-Si
p+ poly-Si
n+
n+
p+
p-type Si
p+
n-type Si
• For current to flow, VGS > VT
• For current to flow, VGS < VT
• Enhancement mode: VT > 0
• Enhancement mode: VT < 0
• Depletion mode: VT < 0
• Depletion mode: VT > 0
– Transistor is ON when VG=0V
– Transistor is ON when VG=0V
(“n+” denotes very heavily doped n-type material; “p+” denotes very heavily doped p-type material)
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 9
Prof. White
MOSFET Circuit Symbols
G
NMOS
G
n+ poly-Si
n+
n+
S
S
p-type Si
PMOS
Body
G
G
p+ poly-Si
p+
p+
S
S
n-type Si
Body
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 10
Prof. White
Water Model for P-channel MOSFET
Source
Gate
Spring
Source
Gate
Drain
Drain
Flexible
membrane
Figure 0.1 Schematic symbol and water model for a
p-channel MOSFET
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 11
Prof. White
MOSFET Terminals
• The voltage applied to the GATE terminal determines whether
current can flow between the SOURCE & DRAIN terminals.
– For an n-channel MOSFET, the SOURCE is biased at a lower
potential (often 0 V) than the DRAIN
(Electrons flow from SOURCE to DRAIN when VG > VT)
– For a p-channel MOSFET, the SOURCE is biased at a higher
potential (often the supply voltage VDD) than the DRAIN
(Holes flow from SOURCE to DRAIN when VG < VT )
• The BODY terminal is usually connected to a fixed potential.
– For an n-channel MOSFET, the BODY is connected to 0 V
– For a p-channel MOSFET, the BODY is connected to VDD
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 12
Prof. White
NMOSFET IG vs. VGS Characteristic
Consider the current IG (flowing into G) versus VGS :
IG
G
S
oxide
semiconductor
VGS +

IG
D
VDS
+

The gate is insulated from the
semiconductor, so there is no
significant steady gate current.
always zero!
VGS
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 13
Prof. White
The MOSFET as a Controlled Resistor
• The MOSFET behaves as a resistor when VDS is low:
– Drain current ID increases linearly with VDS
– Resistance RDS between SOURCE & DRAIN depends on VGS
• RDS is lowered as VGS increases above VT
oxide thickness  tox
NMOSFET Example:
ID
VGS = 2 V
VGS = 1 V > VT
VDS
IDS = 0 if VGS < VT
EECS42, Spring 2005
Inversion charge density Qi(x) = -Cox[VGS-VT-V(x)]
where Cox  eox / tox
Week 8b, Slide 14
Prof. White
Sheet Resistance Revisited
Consider a sample of n-type semiconductor:
V
I
_
+
W
t
homogeneously doped sample
L
 1
1
1
Rs   

t t q n nt  nQn
where Qn is the charge per unit area
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 15
Prof. White
NMOSFET ID vs. VDS Characteristics
Next consider ID (flowing into D) versus VDS, as VGS is varied:
G
S
VGS +

VGS > VT
zero if VGS < VT
VDS
EECS42, Spring 2005
D
oxide
semiconductor
ID
ID
VDS
+

Above threshold (VGS > VT):
“inversion layer” of electrons
appears, so conduction
between S and D is possible
Below “threshold” (VGS < VT):
no charge  no conduction
Week 8b, Slide 16
Prof. White
MOSFET as a Controlled Resistor (cont’d)
VDS
ID 
RDS
RDS
L /W
L /W
 Rs ( L / W ) 

 nQi  C (V  V  VDS )
n ox
GS
T
2
VDS
W
I D   nCox (VGS  VT 
)VDS
L
2
average value
of V(x)
We can make RDS low by
• applying a large “gate drive” (VGS  VT)
• making W large and/or L small
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 17
Prof. White
Charge in an N-Channel MOSFET
VGS < VT:
depletion region
(no inversion layer
at surface)
VGS > VT :
VDS  0
I D  WQinvv
 WQ inv  n E
 VDS 
 WQ inv  n 

 L 
VDS > 0
(small)
Average electron velocity v is proportional to lateral electric field E
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 18
Prof. White
What Happens at Larger VDS?
VGS > VT :
VDS = VGS–VT
Inversion-layer
is “pinched-off”
at the drain end
VDS > VGS–VT
As VDS increases above VGS–VT  VDSAT,
the length of the “pinch-off” region DL increases:
• “extra” voltage (VDS – VDsat) is dropped across the distance DL
• the voltage dropped across the inversion-layer “resistor” remains VDsat
 the drain current ID saturates
Note: Electrons are swept into the drain by the E-field when they enter the pinch-off region.
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 19
Prof. White
Summary of ID vs. VDS
• As VDS increases, the inversion-layer charge density at
the drain end of the channel is reduced; therefore, ID
does not increase linearly with VDS.
• When VDS reaches VGS  VT, the channel is “pinched off”
at the drain end, and ID saturates (i.e. it does not
increase with further increases in VDS).
+
VGS
–
VDS > VGS - VT
G
D
S
n+
-
VGS - VT
+
I DSAT   nCox
W
VGS  VT 2
2L
n+
pinch-off region
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 20
Prof. White
ID vs. VDS Characteristics
The MOSFET ID-VDS curve consists of two regions:
1) Resistive or “Triode” Region: 0 < VDS < VGS  VT
VDS 
W
VGS  VT 
VDS


L
2 
where k n   n Cox
I D  k n
process transconductance parameter
2) Saturation Region:
VDS > VGS  VT
k n W
VGS  VT 2
I DSAT 
2 L
where k n   nCox
EECS42, Spring 2005
“CUTOFF” region: VG < VT
Week 8b, Slide 21
Prof. White
Channel-Length Modulation
If L is small, the effect of DL to reduce the inversion-layer
“resistor” length is significant
 ID increases noticeably with DL (i.e. with VDS)
ID
ID = ID(1 + lVDS)
l is the slope
ID is the intercept
VDS
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 22
Prof. White
Velocity Saturation
At high electric fields, the average velocity of carriers is
NOT proportional to the field; it saturates at ~107 cm/sec
for both electrons and holes:
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 23
Prof. White
Current Saturation in Modern MOSFETs
• In digital ICs, we typically use transistors with the
shortest possible gate-length for high-speed operation.
• In a very short-channel MOSFET, ID saturates because
the carrier velocity is limited to ~107 cm/sec
v is not proportional to E,
due to velocity saturation
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 24
Prof. White
Consequences of Velocity Saturation
1. ID is lower than that predicted by the mobility model
2. ID increases linearly with VGS  VT rather than
quadratically in the saturation region
VDSAT 

I DSAT  WCox VGS  VT 
vsat

2 

L
where VDSAT 
vsat
n
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 25
Prof. White
P-Channel MOSFET ID vs. VDS
• As compared to an n-channel MOSFET, the signs
of all the voltages and the currents are reversed:
Short-channel PMOSFET I-V
Note that the effects
of velocity saturation
are less pronounced
than for an NMOSFET.
Why is this the case?
EECS42, Spring 2005
Week 8b, Slide 26
Prof. White