MOSFET

Simulation
ECE 417
George Vartanov

Introduction

MOSFETs are the most ubiquitously used semiconductors in the electrical
engineering field. In this project we will be exploring the various aspects of the
MOSFET through simulation in three different software applications. The
parameters that we calculate initially will help us see the behavior of the MOSFETs
through I-V curves.
Part 1: MATLAB
Finding the Threshold Voltage:
Finding these parameters required a few
Paramter
Value
key equations. The first parameter is the bulk
B
.4165 V
Cox
3.4531e-07 F potential. In this case the bulk is mostly p-type.
This means it is expected to be positive and is
VFB
-1.0693 V
consistent with the value that I found above. In
M
1.2903
addition to this, the capacitance of the oxide should
VT0
.247 V
be quite small due to the very small value of GOX.
This small capacitance corresponds to the flat band voltage relatively well due to the
fact that the C-V curve for a NMOS shows a small capacitance for negative voltage
values. The M parameter is a scalar that takes into account the bulk potential for
improved accuracy. That value should be greater than 1 so my value makes sense.
Finally, the threshold voltage is the turn-on point for the MOSFET, and should be
relatively low and positive.

Developing the Output Curve:
The curve at the
left depicts the output
characteristics of the
MOSFET at some specific
gate biases. It is somewhat
difficult to see the cutoff
curve, but the value is at a
constant current value of
0A. The reason that the
blue curve is in cutoff is
because the value of Vg is
below the threshold
voltage for this MOSFET.
These curves do not take
into account any channel
length modulation
because the saturation
region looks completely
ideal. The saturation region exists to the right of each of the voltage values marked
Vdsat on the curves. The pre-saturation region is located to the left of those voltage
values. It is clear that the drain current increases with the gate voltage.

Developing the Transfer Curve:

The plots
at the right depict the
transfer characteristics
of the MOSFET. The
upper figure has the
data plotted with a
logarithmic scale used
for the current while the
lower figure uses a
linear scale. The
logarithmic plot is the
most effective at
revealing where the
current plateau occurs.
This is the region where
the change in gate
voltage does not have
much influence on the
drain current. There is
definitely an increase in
current when the
drain voltage
increases. As the
drain voltage values
increase, there is not
as much of a
difference in the
drain current at high
gate voltage values.
The linear graph is
useful for seeing
which values of
drain voltages would
increase the drain
current at the most
dramatic rate. In
addition to this, the
linear graph reveals
where the threshold
voltage is as the
current is only non-
zero at values higher
than .247 Volts.

Part 2: HSPICE
Developing the Output Curve:

Developing the Transfer Curve and estimating VT:

The figures to the
right are the HSPICE representations
of the transfer curves. These are very
similar to the results I acquired in
MATLAB. This result seems more
accurate than the initial plot that I
found earlier and also has a slightly
higher current overall. I am not sure
what HSPICE is accounting for that
was not included in MATLAB. The
overall trend is the same in both
graphs, which is reassuring. In order
to calculate the threshold voltage
from these plots, the drain voltage
value of .1 Volts was used. Using the
trace tool on the logarithmic plot, I
found the point where the curves
began to split and estimated the
voltage to be approximately .272
Volts. The linear model was slightly
more difficult to use, but I found a
value of approximately .276 Volts.
This makes sense, as the calculated
value earlier was .274 Volts.

The figure to the left is
the HSPICE representation of
the output curves. This plot is
very similar to the one
generated by MATLAB with
one significant difference.
The HSPICE model does take
the channel length
modulation into account
when creating the curves.
The blue line still represents
the cutoff region. The black
line divides the saturation
region (right side) from the
pre-saturation region (left
side).

Part 3: ATLAS

Energy Band Diagrams at Various Locations:

The figure at the right shows
the band energy at Y = 0.6
microns. This makes sense
because the poly-silicon layer
should not have a difference
between valence and
conduction bands. At the oxide
there should be a rapid change
of the energy due to the
capacitance found in the region
and is also what the two black
bars are representing. In the p-
substrate, there is a difference
in the valence and conduction
energies and according to this
plot the MOSFET is in
accumulation region of operation.

The figure to the left depicts

the energy levels laterally
across the device. Because
there are no biases on the
device, there will be
equivalent n-type regions
and a flat p-type region. The
energy should be higher in
the p-type region so this
diagram makes sense. The
device would be at
equilibrium at this point.

Developing the Output Curve:

The figure to the right
is the ATLAS
representation of the
drain current using a
slow sweep over the
drain voltages. The
different curves depict
the drain current at
different gate voltages.
This figure is more
relatable to the HSPICE
simulation than the
MATLAB output curves.
The current is also
quite low on this graph.
You mentioned this in the project description, but I could not figure out how to
account for it in ATLAS.

Developing the Transfer Curve:

The curves to the right are the ATLAS
representations of the drain current
when preforming a sweep over gate
voltages. The three different curves are
the three different values of drain
voltage biases we tested. The biggest
difference that is visible in these plots is
the rate of increase in slope. It is clearly
much slower when using ATLAS due to
the accuracy of the software. There
were many more parameters being
taken into account when developing the
curve. The gaps between the curves are
much more defined in this linear
representation. However, it would be
very difficult to estimate VT using these
curves.

Biasing the Device:

1) Cutoff:


The figure at the
top includes the energy bands in
red and blue. The green curve is
the potential energy. The potential
energy is exactly mirrored by the
valence band energy across the
Fermi energy level. The potential
energy should be lower in the p
substrate due to the lower number
of electrons.

The following
figure represents the electric field
at cutoff. The electric field should
be much larger in the p substrate
since it is in the accumulation
region. The oxide has an electric
field, which causes this increase,
while the n regions do not have
anything causing an electric field.
The peaks of the electric field are
likely due to abrupt changes in
doping in the device.

The final figure is
the representation of the hole and
electron concentration along the
device. This makes perfect sense
since this is an NMOS device, and
has a high number of holes in the
center with large quantities of
electrons on the left and right side
of the substrate. Because this
device is in cutoff, the figures are
all expected to be symmetrical and
in equilibrium.

2) Pre-Saturation:
The figure at the left
displays the energy bands
and potential of the
MOSFET when it is in pre-
saturation mode. There is
not a very large gate to
surpass which will allow
current to flow much
more easily. The electric
field is higher towards the
drain due to the high
voltage being applied to
the gate. This also causes
much more electrons
carrying current to be
present near the drain. In
comparison to the device
in cutoff, there are much
fewer holes present and
many more electrons
present over the whole
device.

3) Saturation:
The figures at the left
represent the device in
saturation. The energy
bands are very close
together due to the high
biasing on the gate and the
drain. This makes sense due
to the clear ease of the
current to flow from the
source to the drain. This
amount of current flow
causes a serious spike in the
electric field.

The electric
field has two valleys where
the concentration changes in
slope. The electric field is
mostly negative and is much
different from the pre-
saturation electric field.
The concentration of
holes is very close to zero
because of how heavily
doped the MOSFET is. The
electron concentration
changes with the hole
concentration at the gate
drain interface due to
recombination generation
occurring at the junction.