The MOSFET Introduction Metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) or MOS is widely used for implementing digital designs Assets: High integration density and relatively simple manufacturing process Consequently, it is possible to realize 107-8 transistors on an integrated circuit (IC) economically. The MOS Transistor Gate Oxide Source Gate Polysilicon n+ Drain n+ p-substrate Field-Oxide (SiO2 ) p+ stopper Heavily doped n-type source and drain regions are implanted (diffused) into a lightly doped p-type substrate (body) A thin layer (approx. 50 A0) of silicon dioxide (SiO2) is grown over the region between source and drain and is called thin or gate oxide • Gate oxide is covered by a conductive material, often polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) and forms the gate of the transistor • MOS transistors are insulated from each other by thick oxide (SiO2) and reverse biased p-n+ diode • Adding p+ field implant (channel stop implant) makes sure a parasitic MOS transistor is not formed MOS Transistor as a switch Vin > VT : a conducting channel is formed between source and drain and current flows Vin <VT : the channel does not form and switch is said to be Open Vin >VT : current is a function of gate voltage NMOS, PMOS, and CMOS Technology In an NMOS transistor, current is carried by electrons (from source, through an n-type channel to the drain Different than diode where both holes and electrons contribute to the total current Therefore, MOS transistor is also known as unipolar device Another MOS device can be formed by having p+ source and drain and n-substrate (PMOS) Current is carried by holes through a p-type channel A technology that uses NMOS (PMOS) transistors only is called NMOS (PMOS) technology In NMOS or PMOS technologies, substrate is common and is connected to +ve voltage, GND (NMOS) or VDD (PMOS) In a complementary MOS (CMOS) technology, both PMOS and NMOS transistors are used NMOS and PMOS devices are fabricated in isolated region from each other (i.e., no common substrate for all devices) MOS transistor is a 4 terminal device, if 4th terminal is not shown it is assumed to be connected to appropriate voltage What is an MOS Transistor? A Switch! An MOS Transistor VGS ≥ VT S |VGS| Ron D When the voltage applied to the gate is larger than VT, a conducting channel is formed between the drain and source. In the presence of a voltage difference between D & S, electrical current flows between them. When the gate voltage is lower than the threshold, no channel exists, and the switch is considered open. Very few parasitic effects, high integration density, relatively simple manufacturing process Threshold Voltage: Concept + VGS S - D G n+ n+ n-channel Depletion Region p-substrate B Initially: VGS=0, both pn-junctions have a 0V bias, and are considered off => extremely high resistance between drain and source. Then: VGS>0, channel is formed If now the gate voltage (VGS) is increased, gate and substrate form plates of a capacitor with oxide as dielectric +ve gate voltage causes +ve charge on gate and -ve charge on the substrate side. In substrate it occurs in two steps (i) depletion of mobile holes, (ii) accumulation of -ve charge (inversion) At certain Vgs, potential at the interface reaches a critical value, where surface inverts to n-type (start of strong inversion) Further Vgs increase does not increase the depletion width but increases electrons in the inversion layer Threshold Voltage where VT = VT 0 + γ [ − 2ΦF + VSB − − 2ΦF ] where γ = 2qεsiNA COX VT is +ve for NMOS and -ve for PMOS devices The Threshold Voltage – Body Effect 0 .9 0 .8 5 VT is the VGS value where strong inversion occurs. Note that VBS should never exceed 0.6V, otherwise the source-body becomes forward biased, which deteriorates the transistor’s operation 0 .8 0 .7 5 T V (V) 0 .7 0 .6 5 0 .6 0 .5 5 0 .5 0 .4 5 0 .4 - 2 .5 -2 - 1 .5 -1 V BS - 0 .5 0 (V ) VT = VT 0 + γ ( − 2Φ F + VSB − 2Φ F ) Function in manufacturing process (oxide thickness, fermi voltage, ion implants) Transistor in Linear S n+ VGS VDS G – V(x) ID D n+ + L x p-substrate B With VGS>VT, and a small VDS is applied, a current ID flows from the drain to source. Using simple analysis, a first order expression of ID is obtained. When VGS >VT Let at any point along the channel, the voltage is V(x) and gate to channel voltage at that point is VGS -V(x) If the Vgs -V(x) >VT for all x, the induced channel charge per unit area at x (Cox is the capacitance per unit area of the gate oxide – εox/tox) Qi ( x) = −COX [Vgs − V ( x) − VT ] Current is given by I D = − υ ( x ) Q i ( x )W The electron velocity is given by υ n = − µ nE ( x ) = µ n Therefore, dV dx IDdx = µnCOXW (Vgs − V − VT )dV Integrating the equation over the length L yields 2 W Vds ] ID = K ' n [(Vgs − VT )Vds − 2 L 2 Vds ] ID = Kn[(Vgs − VT )Vds − 2 or For small VDS values, the MOS acts as a resistor Transistor in Saturation VGS V DS > VGS - V T G D S n+ - VGS - VT + n+ Pinch-off With VGS>VT, and a larger VDS applied, the channel thickness gradually is reduced from source to drain until pinch-off occurs (channel depth depends on the voltage from G to channel). This occurs when pinch-off condition meets the drain region, VGS − VDS ≤ VT and current remains constant ID = kn W (VGS − VT )2 2 L K’n is known as the process trans-conductance parameter and equals K ' n = µnCOX = µn εox tox If the VGS is further increased, then at some x, Vgs - V(x) <VT and that point the channel disappears and transistor is said to be pinched-off Close to drain no channel exists, the pinched-off condition in the vicinity of drain is VGS - VDS ≤ VT Under these conditions, transistor is in the saturation region If a complete channel exists between source and drain, then transistors is said to be in triode or linear region Replacing Vds by Vgs -VT in the current equation we get, MOS current-voltage relationship in saturation region K'n W ID = (Vgs − VT ) 2 2 L This equation is not entirely correct, the position of pinch-off point and hence the effective channel length is a function of Vds, a more accurate equation is given as ID = K'n W (Vgs − VT ) 2 [1 + λVds ] 2 L ID (mA) 2 Triode VGS = 5V Saturation VGS = 4V 1 VGS = 3V VGS = 2V VGS = 1V 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 VDS (V) (a) ID as a function of V DS 5.0 0.020 ÷ √ID VDS = V GS-VT Square Dependence where is an empirical constant parameter called channel length modulation factor 0.010 Subthreshold Current 0.0 2.0 VT1.0 VGS (V) (b) √ID as a function of V GS (for VDS = 5V). 3.0 Current-Voltage Relations A good ol’ transistor 6 x 10 -4 VGS= 2.5 V 5 Resistive Saturation 4 ID (A) VGS= 2.0 V 3 VDS = VGS - VT 2 VGS= 1.5 V 1 0 Quadratic Relationship VGS= 1.0 V 0 0.5 1 1.5 VDS (V) 2 2.5 A model for manual analysis The Transistor as a Switch (for hand analysis) VDS (VDD VGS ≥ VT S VDD VDD/2) ID Ron D ID Ron varies with time, nonlinear and depends on operating point of the MOS. t t 1 2 1 2 VDS (t) Req = average Ron(t)dt = dt t =t1...t 2 (Ron(t)) = t2 − t1 ∫t1 t2 − t1 ∫t1 ID (t) 1 Req ≈ (Ron(t1) + Ron(t2 )) 2 V GS = VD D Rmid R0 V DS VDD/2 VDD The Transistor as a Switch • Resistance is inversely proportional to W/L ratio of the device. Doubling the transistor width cuts the resistance by half 7 x 10 5 6 4 eq R • For VDD >> the resistance becomes virtually independent of VDD. Only a minor improvement is the resistance can be seen when rising VDD (attributed to the channel length modulation) – refer to the I-V equations in linear and saturation (Ohm) 5 3 2 1 • Once VDD approaches VT, the resistance dramatically increases. 0 0.5 1 1.5 V DD (V) 2 2.5 Dynamic Behavior G CGS CGD D S CGB CSB B CDB Dynamic Behavior MOS transistor is a unipolar (majority carrier) device, therefore, its dynamic response is determined by time to (dis)charge various capacitances MOS capacitances Gate oxide capacitance (Cg): COX = per unit area, for a transistor of width, W and length, L, the Cg=Cox.W.L From current equation it is apparent that Cox should be high or gate oxide thickness should be small Gate capacitance consists of several components Source and drain diffusions extend below the thin oxide (lateral diffusion) giving rise to overlap capacitance The Gate Capacitance Polysilicon gate Source xd n+ xd Ld W Drain n+ Gate-bulk overlap Top view Gate oxide tox n+ L n+ Cross section ❍ Source and drain diffusions extend below the thin oxide (lateral diffusion) giving rise to overlap capacitance ❍ Xd is constant for a technology and this capacitance is linear and has a fixed value CgsO = CgdO = CoxXdW = CoW Average Gate Capacitance Gate to channel capacitance consists of Cgs, Cgd, and Cgb components. All these components are nonlinear and their value depends on operation region of the device. Most important regions in digital design: saturation and cut-off Gate Capacitance G G CGC D S Cut-off No channel exists, CGC appears between gate and body G CGC CGC D S Resistive Inversion layer is formed acting as conductor between source and drain. Cgb=0 (body electrode is shielded by channel). CGC divided evenly between source and drain D S Saturation Channel is pinched off. Cgd~0 & Cgb~0 Most important regions in digital design: saturation and cut-off Gate Capacitance CG C WLC ox WLC ox 2 CGC B C G CS = CG CD VG S Capacitance as a function of VGS (with VDS = 0) WLC ox CG C 2WLC ox CG CS WLC ox 2 3 CGCD 0 VDS /( VG S-VT) 1 Capacitance as a function of the degree of saturation Diffusion Capacitance