Electrical characteristic fluctuation and suppression in emerging CMOS device and circuit

Abstract

We study the characteristic variability in high-к metal-gate CMOS device and circuit induced by various intrinsic fluctuation sources. Using an experimentally calibrated 3D device-and-circuit coupled simulation; we estimate the effect of metal-gate work-function fluctuation, oxide-thickness fluctuation, process-variation effect, and random-dopant fluctuation on device DC/AC characteristics. We then predict their impacts on transfer and dynamic properties of digital and analog circuits. Finally, variability suppression techniques are demonstrated from device engineering viewpoints.