SOI CMOS

EECS 277A
Aishwarya Sankara 17723777

4/24/2013

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE

Today
What is SOI? Characteristics of SOI Fabrication methods Basic categorization Electrical anomalies Advantages and Disadvantages

4/24/2013

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE

What is SOI?
-SOI Silicon-onInsulator -Si layer on top of an insulator layer to build active devices and circuits. -The insulator layer is usually made of SiO2
4/24/2013 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE

Characteristics

Include: - High speed - Low power - High device density - Easier device isolation structure
4/24/2013 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE

SOI Fabrication Processes

-SOS Silicon-on-Sapphire -SIMOX Separation by Implantation of Oxygen -ZMR Zone melting and recrystallization -BESOI Bond and Etchback SOI -Smart-cut SOI Technology

4/24/2013

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE

Categorization
-Categorization based on the thickness of the silicon film. -The first is a partiallydepleted device and the latter is a fully-depleted device.
-Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. -PD device threshold voltage is insensitive to film thickness. -FD device has reduced short channel and narrow channel effects.
4/24/2013 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE

Electrical anomalies
Floating-body effect: -Usually seen in Partially-Depleted devices. - As shown in figure, the MOS structure is accompanied by a parasitic bipolar device in parallel.
-The base of this device is floating.

4/24/2013

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE

Electrical anomalies
Kink Effect: -Sudden discontinuity in drain current. -Seen when the device is biased in the saturation region. -The bipolar device is turned on. Solution: -Provide a body contact for the device.

- Use FD devices.

4/24/2013

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE

Electrical anomalies
Self-heating effect: Thermal insulation is provided by the oxide surface. Heat dissipation is not efficient. This happens only when there is logic switching in the device.

In fully-depleted devices, the threshold voltage is sensitive to the thickness of the silicon film. Manufacturing process is comparatively difficult.

4/24/2013

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE

Advantages of SOI
Suitable for high-energy radiation environments. Parasitic capacitances of SOI devices are much smaller.

No latch-up.

4/24/2013

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE

Advantages
Easier device isolation
-

-High device density -Easier scaledown of threshold voltage.

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Uses in digital and analog circuits

A combination of FD and PD devices are used in digital circuitry.

Superior capabilities of SOI CMOS technology usage in memory cell implementation.

4/24/2013

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE

Uses in digital and analog circuits

SOI technology is useful for implementing high-speed op-amps given its low Vt. Higher transconductance (especially of FD) implies higher gain.

Lower power consumption compared to bulk devices at low current level.

4/24/2013 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE

Disadvantages
Major bottleneck is high manufacturing costs of the wafer. Floating-body effects impede extensive usage of SOI. Device integration dopant reaction with the oxide surface. Electrical differences between and SOI nad bulk devices.
4/24/2013 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE

Conclusion
Due to its characteristics, SOI is fast becoming a standard in IC fabrication. Several companies have taken up SOI manufacturing.

High-volume production of SOI is yet to become common.

4/24/2013 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE

References
J. Kuo, Low- Voltage SOI CMOS VLSI Devices and Circuits. New York, John Wiley, Sept 2001. J.Kuo, CMOS VLSI Engineering(SOI). Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1998. Vivian Ma, SOI VS CMOS. University of Toronto. www.google.com www.chips.ibm.com

THANK YOU!

4/24/2013

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE