Recently, a paper focused on advanced process node 14nm fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) devices, written by Prof. Zhao Yi’s research group from College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, was received by the 2017 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM). This work uses picosecond pulsed current-voltage scanning technology to directly study the self-heating effect of the 14nm FinFET device when it is turned on and working, and its effect on device reliability. IEDM is the top conference in the field of microelectronics and has a history of more than 60 years. It enjoys a high academic status and wide-ranging influence in the international semiconductor technology community. The 2017 IEDM meeting was held in San Francisco, USA from December 2 to December 6.
In order to further reduce the size of electronic devices, the semiconductor industry has introduced a three-dimensional structure of fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) to produce logic switching devices at 14 nm. Different from the good thermal conductivity of the traditional silicon-based device, this special structure will make the channel current generated by the transistor continue to accumulate, which lead to the increase of the device operating temperature, resulting in degradation of device’s performance. Under the more advanced technology node, the self-heating effect is considered to be the major difficulty under future 10 nm and 7/5 nm technology nodes. Based on building the world's fastest electrical characteristics characterization system independently, Professor Zhao Yi's research group used picosecond pulsed current-voltage sweeping technology to successfully capture the changes of drain current during transistor heat generation and heat dissipation and evaluate the influence of self-heating effect on the hot carrier injection effect of the transistor devices in the circuit. The paper was accepted by the 2017 IEEE IEDM, indicating that the research team has achieved certain accomplishment in the in-depth research of device fast test technology and advanced integrated circuit devices in recent years, and has gained recognition and attention from domestic and foreign counterparts. The first author of the paper is Qu Yiming, a doctoral student. This is also the second consecutive year that Prof. Zhao Yi’s research group published a paper at the International Electronic Devices Conference (IEDM), marking the improvement of the scientific research capabilities of the research group.
Fig.1(a) established electrical characteristics characterization system
Fig.1(b)board figure of studied 14nm FinFET
Fig.2 temperature change graph of Fin after the simulated FinFET is turned on
Fig.3 degradation of FinFET device’s performance with varied heat dissipation in experiment
