Robust Microelectronic Devices
A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352). This special issue belongs to the section "Inorganic Crystalline Materials".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 27094
Special Issue Editor
Interests: Transistor; Reliability;Defects in Semiconductors; Bias Temperatur Instabilities; Hot Carrier Degradation; Time Dependent Dielectric Breakdown; Device Characterization; High Speed Measurement Methods; Noise in Semiconductor Devices; Single-Defects; Spectroscopy; Circuit Simulation; 2D Transistors; Modeling
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Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The high performance and reliable operation of microelectronic devices are essential for the long-term failure-safe function of complex electrical circuits and applications. Over recent decades, the performance and geometry of integrated semiconductor devices have been continuously improved. However, the devices still suffer from various effects and challenges that might hamper the stable operation of single components. For instance, metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistors suffer from imperfections at the atomic level, which can emerge as electrically active defects. The impact of the defects on the device performance itself manifests as a drift of the MOS transistors' performance over time. In this context, the so-called bias temperature instability (BTI), which emerges as a drift of the threshold voltage of a transistor, is an essential criterion for determining devices' reliability. Although many efforts have been put into understanding this phenomenon and developing suitable models to explain the observed device performance degradation behavior, BTI's detailed physical mechanisms are still controversially debated.
Nevertheless, other mechanisms may affect the robustness of microelectronic transistors too. For instance, the hysteresis of voltage sweeps, stress-induced leakage currents, and time-dependent dielectric breakdown are severe issues in MOS transistors. Next to the transistors, the robust operation of other circuit components, i.e., diodes, resistors, etc., and the reliability of the interconnect play a vital role in robust microelectronics applications.
Next to mainstream Si technology, emerging material systems, such as devices based on wide bandgap materials like SiC or GaN, and novel 2D transistors employing graphene, MoS2, and many other 2D materials are also of significant interest to the field of robust microelectronics devices. In addition to the challenges evolving for developing a physical understanding of experimental observations, the characterization of novel material systems also poses a significant challenge for suitable characterization techniques and measurement instruments, such as the requirement of high-speed measurement techniques (fast IDVG or fast CV methods), but also the need for ultra-low noise systems to investigate trap-assisted tunneling, to mention a few.
Finally, to ensure the proper interplay of the various components, advanced circuit simulations have to be performed. For this, suitable compact models describing the many peculiarities of the components, under various operating conditions, are used. The design of such models poses a formidable challenge for reliability engineers and is of particular importance to precisely evaluate the device robustness. The robustness of circuits to extrinsic sources, i.e., radiation-hardened circuit design, is one topic that has to be considered in this context.
Given the wide diversity of approaches to explore the robustness of various material systems and applications, this Special Issue will provide a platform for scientists from different disciplines to publish their latest advancements and reviews in this direction. This includes reliability analysis of transistors, diodes, etc., improved compact models of various devices and technologies for circuit simulations, or simulations of electronic circuits to improve their design.
Dr. Michael Waltl
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- Robust microelectronic circuits
- Transistor reliability (BTI, HCD, TAT, SILC, TDDB)
- Characterization and modeling of microelectronics devices
- Robustness of microelectronics devices (transistors, diodes, interconnects, etc.)
- Reliability of wide bandgap SiC and GaN devices
- Fabrication, characterization, and simulation of novel devices employing 2D materials
- Compact modeling of microelectronic devices
- Circuit simulation
- Test structures for reliability assessment
- Robustness of devices and circuits in harsh environments (cryogenic or high temperatures, etc.)
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