You are on page 1of 72

VLSI DESIGN

Introduction

BACK END

FRONT END

What is VLSI??

VLSI means Very Large-Scale Integration. It is an effort to integrate discrete component circuits in a single silicon base (chip). The integration results in a high reliability, low power consumption, high speed, less weight, low volume, and low cost of products.

HISTORY of VLSI

Small-Scale Integration (SSI) 10 gates per chip, 1960s Medium-Scale Integration (MSI) 1001000 gates per chip,1970s Large-Scale Integration (LSI) 100010,000 gates per chip, 1980s Very Large-Scale Integration (VLSI) 10,000100,000 gates per chip,1990s Ultra-Large Scale Integration (ULSI) 1M10M gates per chip, Present

Moores Law
Gordon Moore -- Intels co-founder Statement: Transistors on a IC doubles every 2 years.

VLSI Design Companies

Semiconductor Fab companies

Semiconductor Fabless companies

MOS related VLSI technology


nMOS pMOS CMOS Logic (nMOS & pMOS) BiCMOS I/O and Driver circuits GaAs High mobility

CMOS Circuit Example


VDD M2 M4 Vin Vout Vout2 VDD

M1

M3

CMOS Circuit - Layout View


VDD M2 M4 Vin Vout Vout2 VDD

M1

M3

Fabrication Technology

nMOS Fabrication CMOS Fabrication


p-well process n-well process twin-tub process

Fabrication Technology

Silicon of extremely high purity

chemically purified then grown into large crystals


crystals are sliced into wafers wafer diameter is currently 150mm, 200mm, 300mm wafer thickness <1mm surface is polished to optical smoothness

Wafers

Wafer is then ready for processing Each wafer will yield many chips

chip die size varies from about 5mmx5mm to 15mmx15mm A whole wafer is processed at a time

N-MOS Fabrication
Si Substrtate

A relatively thick silicon dioxide layer (5000A), also called field oxide, is created on the surface SI Substrate

N-MOS Fabrication (contd..)

Photolithography

Spin on photoresist

Photoresist SiO 2 Si-substrate (b) After oxidation and deposition of negative photoresist UV-light Patterned optical mask Exposed resist Si-substrate (c) Stepper exposure

Photoresist is a lightsensitive organic polymer Softens where exposed to light

Expose photoresist to UV rays through optical mask layer and strip off exposed photoresist.

N-MOS Fabrication(Contd..)

Photolithography

Chemical or plasma etch Hardened resist SiO 2 Si-substrate

Etching: selective removal of a layer.

Remove Silicon dioxide with hydrofluoric acid. Only attacks oxide where resist has been exposed

(d) After development and etching of resist, chemical or plasma etch of SiO 2 Hardened resist SiO 2 Si-substrate (e) After etching

Strip off remaining photoresist using etching.


Si-substrate

SiO 2

(f) Final result after removal of resist

Photo-Lithographic Process
optical mask oxidation

photoresist removal (ashing)

photoresist coating
stepper exposure

Typical operations in a single photolithographic cycle (from [Fullman]). photoresist development acid etch process step spin, rinse, dry

N-MOS Fabrication (contd..)

The field oxide is selectively etched to expose the silicon surface on which the MOS transistor will be created

The surface is covered with a thin, high-quality oxide layer (25A), which will eventually form the gate oxide of the MOS transistor

On top of the thin oxide, a layer of polysilicon (polycrystalline silicon, 3000A) is deposited

After deposition, the polysilicon layer is patterned and etched to form the interconnects and the MOS transistor gates

The thin gate oxide not covered by polysilicon is also etched away, which exposes the bare silicon surface on which the source and drain junctions are to be formed

The entire silicon surface is then doped with a high concentration of impurities, either through diffusion or ion implantation ultimately creating two n-type regions (source and drain junctions) in the p-type substrate
Once the source and drain regions are completed, the entire surface is again covered with an insulating layer of silicon dioxide

The insulating oxide layer is then patterned in order to provide contact windows for the drain and source junctions

N-MOS Fabrication (contd..)

The surface is covered with evaporate aluminum (5000A) which will form the interconnects

Finally, the metal layer is patterned and etched, completing the interconnection of the MOS transistors on the surface

3D View of NMOS Transistor

CMOS Fabrication - Types


p-well process n-well process twin-tub process

CMOS Technology

First proposed in the 1960s. Was not seriously considered until the severe limitations in power density and dissipation occurred in NMOS circuits Now the dominant technology in IC manufacturing Employs both pMOS and nMOS transistors to form logic elements The advantage of CMOS is that its logic elements draw significant current only during the transition from one state to another and very little current between transitions - hence power is conserved. In the case of an inverter, in either logic state one of the transistors is off. Since the transistors are in series, (~ no) current flows.

CMOS Fabrication P-Well Process

CMOS Inverter Device using p well

In p & n-well CMOS process, the doping density of the well region is typically about one order of magnitude higher than the substrate, which results in unbalanced drain parasitics. The twin-tub process avoids this problem.

Twin tub process

Twin tub process

This technology provides the basis for separate optimization of the nMOS and pMOS transistors. The starting material is a n+ or p+ substrate, with a lightly doped epitaxial layer on top. This epitaxial layer provides the actual substrate on which the n-well and the p-well are formed. Since two independent doping steps are performed for the creation of the well regions, the dopant concentrations can be carefully optimized to produce the desired device characteristics.

BiCMOS Technology

A known deficiency of MOS technology is its limited load driving capabilities (due to limited current sourcing and sinking abilities of pMOS and nMOS transistors. Bipolar transistors have

higher gain better noise characteristics better high frequency characteristics

BiCMOS gates can be an efficient way of speeding up VLSI circuits. CMOS fabrication process can be extended for BiCMOS

CMOS and Bi-CMOS Difference

N-well CMOS and Bi-CMOS

BiCMOS npn Transistor

P+ base region. N+ collector area. Buried Subcollector (BCCD)

Electrical Properties of NMOS

NMOS Transistor Cut-off region

Vgs<Vt

NMOS Transistor Linear region


VGS S G n+ VDS D n+ L x ID

V(x)

p-substrate B

MOS transistor and its bias conditions

Vgs > Vt Vds > 0

NMOS Transistor Saturation region


VGS VDS > VGS - VT D

G S n+
-

VGS - VT

n+

Pinch off

Voltage & Current Properties


6 x 10
-4

VGS= 2.5 V

4
ID (A)

Resistive

Saturation VGS= 2.0 V

VDS = VGS - VT
VGS= 1.5 V

VGS= 1.0 V

0.5

1 VDS (V)

1.5

2.5

Electrical parameters of NMOS


Source to Drain Current (Ids) Threshold Voltage (Vt). Transconductance (gm) Figure of Merit (0

Body Effect in NMOS

The NMOS body or Bulk is known either as the substrate, back gate or more commonly the Body and normally connected to source. However if is left unconnected, its effect on the DC characteristics of the device must be taken into account. If we include the bulk effect the value of the threshold voltage VT, will increase with increasing bulk voltage.

Pass Transistors

NMOS INVERTER

NMOS Inverter with Resistive Load


Cut-off region Linear region Saturation region

NMOS Enhancement Mode Transistor as Load


Vdd Dissipation is high since current flows when Vin = 1 Vgg can be derived from a switching source Vout can never reach Vdd (effect of channel) This type of inverter is not preferred. Vgg

Vo

S D

V0
Vt (pull up)

Vdd

Vin S

Non zero output

Vss

Vt (pull down)

Vin

CMOS Technology

First proposed in the 1960s. Was not seriously considered until the severe limitations in power density and dissipation occurred in NMOS circuits Now the dominant technology in IC manufacturing Employs both pMOS and nMOS transistors to form logic elements The advantage of CMOS is that its logic elements draw significant current only during the transition from one state to another and very little current between transitions - hence power is conserved. In the case of an inverter, in either logic state one of the transistors is off. Since the transistors are in series, (~ no) current flows.

CMOS INVERTER

Circuit and Layout


N Well

VDD

VDD
2l

PMOS

PMOS In Out NMOS


Polysilicon In

Contacts

Out Metal 1

NMOS GND

CMOS Inverter Properties

Full rail-to-rail swing high noise margins Logic levels not dependent upon the relative device sizes transistors can be minimum size ratioless. Always a path to Vdd or GND in steady state low output impedance (output resistance in k range) large fan-out. Extremely high input resistance (gate of MOS transistor is near perfect insulator) nearly zero steady-state input current. No direct path steady-state between power and ground no static power dissipation. Propagation delay function of load capacitance and resistance of transistors.

Basic Operation

VIN = 0 then VOUT = VDD VGSn = 0 < VTn . NMOS OFF VSGp = VDD > -VTp . PMOS ON VIN = VDD then VOUT = 0 VGSn = VDD > VTn . NMOS ON VSGp = 0 < -VTp . PMOS OFF
No power consumption while idling in any logic state.

CMOS Inverter: Simple Response


V DD Rp

V DD

V out CL

V out CL

Rn

V in = 0V (a) Low-to-high

V in = V DD (b) High-to-low

NMOS Transistor Characteristics


2.5
X 10-4

VGS = 2.5V
2 1.5 1 0.5 0 0 0.5 1

VGS = 2.0V VGS = 1.5V

VGS = 1.0V

VDS (V)

1.5

2.5

PMOS Transistor Characteristics


-2

VDS (V)

-1

0 0

VGS = -1.0V VGS = -1.5V VGS = -2.0V

-0.2 -0.4 -0.6 -0.8

VGS = -2.5V

-1

X 10-4

CMOS Inverter Load Characteristics


ID n Vin = 0 Vin = 2.5

PMOS

Vin = 0.5

Vin = 2

NMOS

Vin = 1 Vin = 1.5 Vin = 1.5 Vin = 2 Vin = 2.5

Vin = 1.5 Vin = 1 Vin = 1 Vin = 0.5 Vin = 0 Vout

Voltage Transfer Characteristics


Vout NMOS off PMOS res NMOS s at PMOS res NMOS sat PMOS sat NMOS res PMOS sat

1.5

2.5

NMOS res PMOS off 2.5 Vin

0.5

0.5

1.5

CMOS Propagation Delay


VDD

tpHL = C L Vswing/2 Iav


Vout

CL
~

Iav

CL

kn VDD

Vin = V DD

CMOS Propagation Delay


VDD

tpHL = f(R on.CL) = 0.69 RonCL


Vout Vout CL Ron
1

ln(0.5)

VDD

0.5 0.36

Vin = V DD RonCL
t

NMOS Transistor Capacitances


G

Gate to Source (CGS). Gate to Substrate (CGB). Gate to Drain (CGD). Drain to Substrate (CDB). Source to Substrate (CSB).

CGS S

CGD

CSB

CGB

CDB

Design for performance - Speed


Keep capacitances small Increase transistor sizes

Increase VDD (Slight increase)

BiCMOS Inverter

Speed is the only restricting factor in CMOS Inverter, especially when large capacitors must be driven. Propagation delay of CMOS inverter is more in that case, which depend on the capacitances. So Speed decreases. So, for this reason BiCMOS inverter is used in current driven circuits (Capacitance). In the BiCMOS structure, the input stage and the phase-splitter are implemented in MOS, which results in a better performance and higher input impedance. Low Power Consumption because of MOS Transistors.

BiCMOS Inverter Operation

When the input is high, the NMOS transistor M1 is on, causing Q1 to conduct, while M2 and Q2 are off. The result is a low output voltage When the input is low, the PMOS transistor M2 is on, causing Q2 to conduct, while M1 and Q1 are off. The result is a high output voltage.

tpLH for CMOS and BiCMOS

Latch-up in CMOS

Latch-up is a failure mechanism of CMOS integrated circuits. It is characterized by excessive current drain coupled with functional and parametric failure, and finally device destruction.

Latch-up in CMOS (Contd)


Latch-up exists in all junction isolated or bulk CMOS Process Parastic PNPN paths forms NPN and PNP Bipolar Transistors which cause latch-up. Normally, only a small leakage current flows between the substrate and P-well causing only a minute bias and CMOS is well behaved. In the presence of intense ionizing radiation, thermal or over-voltage stress, however, current can be injected into the PNP emitter-base junction, forward-biasing it and the NPN device turns on, increasing the base drive to the PNP. Gain of the PNP and NPN Transistors increases. Then the CMOS draws more current from external network, thus causing Latch-up.

Remedies for Latch-up

Reduction of substrate

resistance Rs.

Reducing N-well Resistance (Rn) in N-well Process and P-well Resistance (Rp) in P-well

process to decrease Gain of the Transistors.

Introduction of guard rings for large current carrying devices

(Transistors) to reduce the resistance.

You might also like