Hot-carrier effect was studied for different channel doping profiles in nMOSFET devices with effective channel length near 100 nm using a device simulator. The test structures for device simulation were generated using gate oxide thickness of 3 nm. The channel doping profiles used were abrupt- and graded-retrograde types with low surface and high substrate concentrations, and conventional step profiles with high surface and low substrate concentrations. For accurate device simulation, a hydrodynamic model for semiconductors was used to simulate the non-local transport phenomena in the devices. The simulation results indicate that for ultra-short channel devices, the current drivability and the hot-carrier effects depend on the shape of channel doping profiles. For a given supply voltage, the hot-carrier effects in ultra-short channel devices can be controlled by optimizing the channel doping profiles.

This paper addresses hot-carrier related reliability issues in deep submicron silicon nMOSFET devices. In order to monitor the hot-carrier induced device degradation, the substrate current was measured for devices with varying channel lengths (20 um - 0.24 um) under various biasing conditions. Deep submicron devices experience velocity saturation of channel carriers due to extremely high lateral electric fields. To evaluate the effects of velocity saturation in the channel, the pinch-off length in the channel was extracted for all the devices of the target technology. It was observed that for very short channel devices, carriers in most of the channel experience velocity saturation and almost the entire channel gets pinched off. It is shown in this paper that for very short channel devices, the pinch-off length in the channel is limited by the effective channel length, and that velocity saturation effects are critical to the transport of channel carriers.

This paper presents a systematic investigation of the hot-carrier effect in deep sub-micron silicon nMOSFET devices. A Hydrodynamic model for semiconductors was used to simulate the local carrier heating and the non-local transport phenomena in nMOSFETs of effective channel lengths 41, 66, 96, and 126 nrn under various biasing conditions. Test structures for device simulation were generated by using a super-steep retrograde channel profile with subsurface peak concentration of l×1018 cm−3, and a gate oxide thickness of 3 nm. Superb MOSFET device characteristics were obtained for all devices. The simulation results show a significant decrease in substrate current, electron impact ionization rate, and peak electron temperature near the drain end of the channel with the decrease in supply voltage. The distribution of electrons into the substrate due to local electron heating is shown to be responsible for hot-carrier reliability in ultra-short channel silicon nMOSFET devices.

Experimental and simulation studies were conducted in an attempt to understand the effects of collimator life time on the Ti and TiN film growth rates and conformalities in sputter deposition processes. The Ti and TiN films were deposited with and without collimation. The hexagonal cells of the collimator used in this study have a 1:1 aspect ratio. A Monte Carlo based simulator was used to calculate the angular distributions of species exiting from a collimator cell and the percentage decrease in the rate of film growth as a function of the collimator life time. Then, a low pressure deposition process simulator, EVOLVE, was used to predict the conformalities of deposited films in contacts or vias, assuming that the films were uniformly deposited on the side-walls of collimator cells. We conclude that the loss in growth rate is largely due to the shrinkage in the cross sectional area of the collimator cell inlets. We arrive at this conclusion after comparing an estimated film thickness on the collimator side-walls with experimental measurements. With extended collimator usage, the predicted and experimental film profiles in contacts or vias show increasing bottom coverage and decreasing side-wall coverages.

Experimental and simulation studies were conducted in an attempt to understand the effects of collimator life time on the Ti and TiN film growth rates and conformalities in sputter deposition processes. The Ti and TiN films were deposited with and without collimation. The hexagonal cells of the collimator used in this study have a 1:1 aspect ratio. A Monte Carlo based simulator was used to calculate the angular distributions of species exiting from a collimator cell and the percentage decrease in the rate of film growth as a function of the collimator life time. Then, a low pressure deposition process simulator, EVOLVE, was used to predict the conformalities of deposited films in contacts or vias, assuming that the films were uniformly deposited on the side-walls of collimator cells. We conclude that the loss in growth rate is largely due to the shrinkage in the cross sectional area of the collimator cell inlets. We arrive at this conclusion after comparing an estimated film thickness on the collimator side-walls with experimental measurements. With extended collimator usage, the predicted and experimental film profiles in contacts or vias show increasing bottom coverage and decreasing side-wall coverages.