Design space for low sensitivity to size variations in [110] PMOS nanowire devices: The implications of anisotropy in the quantization mass

Abstract

A 20-band sp3d5s* spin-orbit-coupled, semi-empirical, atomistic tight-binding model is used with a semi-classical, ballistic, field-effect-transistor (FET) model, to examine the ON-current variations to size variations of [110] oriented PMOS nanowire devices. Infinitely long, uniform, rectangular nanowires of side dimensions from 3nm to 12nm are examined and significantly different behavior in width vs. height variations are identified and explained. Design regions are identified, which show minor ON-current variations to significant width variations that might occur due to lack of line width control. Regions which show large ON-current variations to small height variations are also identified. The considerations of the full band model here show that ON-current doubling can be observed in the ON-state at the onset of volume inversion to surface inversion transport caused by structural side size variations. Strain engineering can smooth out or tune such sensitivities to size variations. The cause of variations described is the structural quantization behavior of the nanowires, which provide an additional variation mechanism to any other ON-current variations such as surface roughness, phonon scattering etc.

24 pages, 5 figures

References in corpus (3)

• Boundary conditions for the electronic structure of finite-extent, embedded semiconductor nanostructures
• Bandstructure Effects in Silicon Nanowire Electron Transport
• A Theoretical Investigation of Surface Roughness Scattering in Silicon Nanowire Transistors

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• Ballistic Phonon Transport in Ultra-Thin Silicon Layers: Effects of Confinement and Orientation
• Bandstructure and mobility variations in p-type Silicon nanowires under electrostatic gate field
• Subband engineering for p-type silicon ultra-thin layers for increased carrier velocities: An atomistic analysis