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Abstract—The quantum-mechanical behavior of charge heavily-doped polysilicon, where the band bending is usually of
carriers at the polysilicon/oxide interface is investigated. It is the order of a few tens of millivolts.
shown that a dark space depleted of free carriers is created at the In this work, we investigate the effects of QM behavior in
interface as a consequence of the abrupt potential energy barrier,
which dominates the polysilicon capacitance and voltage drop in polysilicon on the electrical properties of MOS transistors. For
all regions of operation of modern MOS devices. Quantum-me- the first time, a full quantum simulation of the entire polysil-
chanical effects in polysilicon lead to a reduction in the gate icon/oxide/silicon system is carried out. In the next section, the
capacitance in the same way as substrate quantization, and to a dark-space effect at the polysilicon/oxide interface is briefly de-
negative voltage shift, which is opposed to the positive shift caused scribed. Then, in Section III, we discuss the application of a
by carrier quantization in the channel. Effects on the extraction of
device physical parameters such as oxide thickness and polysilicon one-dimensional (1-D) quantum model to heavily-doped poly-
doping are also addressed. crystalline silicon. In Section IV the impact of QM effects in
polysilicon on the physical gate oxide thickness and polysilicon
Index Terms—MOS devices, MOSFETs, quantization, semicon-
ductor device modeling. doping extraction are evaluated on the basis of extensive device
simulations. In Section V, the impact on the device threshold
voltage is addressed, showing that QM effects at the polysil-
I. INTRODUCTION icon/oxide interface result in a negative threshold voltage shift,
as opposed to the positive shift induced by channel quantization.
T HE increased manufacturing capabilities of the semicon-
ductor industry have led to the fabrication of MOS tran-
sistors with gate lengths well below 0.1 m. The gate oxide
thickness which is needed in order to avoid short-channel ef- II. THE DARK-SPACE EFFECT
fects and reduce the threshold voltage is in the range 1.5 to 3
In normal MOSFET operation, the heavily doped polysil-
nm. In dealing with such characteristic lengths, it is now widely
icon is switched between accumulation and depletion. When
accepted that quantum-mechanical (QM) effects must be taken
in accumulation, the band bending in the polysilicon is of the
into account. Also, the finite series capacitance of the polysil-
order of a few tens of millivolts at most, while in depletion,
icon gate can no longer be neglected, since it has a significant
carriers are repelled from the poly-oxide interface. In neither
impact on the device performance [1].
case a deep quantum well is formed. For this reason, a classical
Since the pioneering works in the 1970s [2], considerable ef-
(CL) treatment of the charge distribution in the poly has been al-
fort has been devoted to the theoretical analysis and modeling
ways assumed, whether the channel was treated in a classical or
of QM effects in MOS inversion layers [3]–[7]. Later on, also
quantum-mechanical framework. However, both accumulation
majority-carrier quantization in strongly accumulated MOS sur-
and depletion of carriers occur within a distance from the oxide
faces has been given attention [8]–[10], due to its impact on the
comparable with the de Broglie wavelength of charge carriers,
gate tunneling current and capacitance. On the other hand, it
so that QM effects must be accounted for. In Fig. 1 the electron
was usually assumed that for small band bending, no QM ef-
concentration in the n -polysilicon of an n-MOS capacitor with
fects occurred. In particular, polysilicon depletion and accumu-
oxide thickness of 5 nm is plotted as a function of the distance
lation was always treated in a classical framework [1], [11], [12].
from the polysilicon/oxide interface, as obtained from a clas-
Recently, we have demonstrated that a significant QM effect
sical simulation and from a self-consistent Schrödinger-Poisson
occurs also when the device is biased near flat bands, and no
solver [14]. Results are shown in conditions of accumulation
splitting of the energy levels occurs [13]. This effect is partic-
( 2 V), at threshold ( 1 V), and in strong inversion
ularly interesting for the case of depletion and accumulation in
( 5 V). For simplicity, this system (n -polysilicon, p-sub-
strate) will be assumed in the rest of the paper. We note that
Manuscript received October 18, 1999; revised July 3, 2000. The review of for positive gate voltages, both gate and substrate are depleted,
this paper was arranged by Editor J. M. Vasi. while for negative voltages, both are accumulated. Significant
A. S. Spinelli is with the Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Fisiche e Matem- differences can be seen between the CL and QM charge distribu-
atiche, Università degli Studi dell’Insubria, and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica della
Materia, Milano-Università, 22100 Como, Italy (e-mail: spinelli@fis.unico.it). tions in accumulation conditions, where the CL solution peaks
A. Pacelli is with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, right at the interface. As a consequence of the presence of the
State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY 11794-2350 USA. abrupt energy barrier, interference among the majority-carrier
A. L. Lacaita is with the Dipartimento di Elettronica e Informazione, Politec-
nico di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy. wavefunctions takes place, and the QM charge is pushed away
Publisher Item Identifier S 0018-9383(00)10402-2. from the interface. Hence, a so-called “dark space” is created,
0018–9383/00$10.00 © 2000 IEEE
SPINELLI et al.: ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF MOS TRANSISTORS 2367
order of 100 nm [15], and should cause no significant lateral of cm . Results are shown as obtained from a clas-
confinement effect [16]. Dopant atoms segregated at the grain sical treatment, a quantum solution where quantization is ap-
boundaries can be neglected, and the net doping of the polysil- plied only in the silicon substrate, as in current state-of-the-art
icon is determined by the dopant concentration inside the grains. simulators [11], and a full quantum solution, with QM effects in
In summary, to all practical purposes, gate polysilicon can be both substrate and polysilicon. Physical parameters adopted for
treated as single-crystal, heavily doped silicon. the polysilicon are the same as for single-crystal silicon. Note
In the presence of strong scattering processes, phase co- that QM effects in polysilicon strongly influence the gate capac-
herence is destroyed, and carriers tend to behave classically. itance in all regions of operation, reducing the computed value.
Therefore, a strong QM effect is expected only if the mean Let us first focus on the accumulation bias condition. Substrate
free path is larger than the electron dark space . In the case of quantization leads to a reduction in the gate capacitance that is
heavily doped polysilicon, the relevant scattering processes are due to either a shift in the centroid of the accumulation charge (in
by phonons and by ionized impurities. The phonon scattering strong accumulation, where bound levels exist) or a dark-space
mean free path can be accurately computed from a microscopic effect (in weak accumulation and at flat bands). Note that the
description of the various electron-phonon processes in silicon maximum reduction in the gate capacitance is not located at flat
[17], [18]. At energies of the order of , which are of interest bands but, rather, where the surface concentration is increased
here, this mean free path is of the order of 10 nm or more, enough to lower its screening length below the hole dark space.
therefore much larger than . On the other hand, due to the In this regime, polysilicon capacitance is dominated by the dark
strong screening and multiple-scatterer interactions, ionized space, which is larger than the screening length (see Fig. 2), and
impurity scattering at high dopant concentrations is not easy to is negligibly dependent on the applied bias. Therefore, polysil-
estimate. However, an empirical value can be obtained from the icon quantization is almost equivalent to an increase of the ef-
average thermal velocity and the momentum relaxation time of fective oxide thickness. At flat bands, only a small reduction in
the system. The former is easily computed taking into account the gate capacitance results from substrate quantization, while a
degeneration effects; the latter can be extracted from mobility more significant contribution is due to quantization of the highly
data for electrons in heavily doped silicon [19]. The mean free doped polysilicon.
path is also shown in Fig. 2, where it can be seen that it remains An important consequence of polysilicon quantization
larger than for all doping values of interest. Note the increase is that the physical oxide thickness extracted from capaci-
of the mean free path at high dopings, consequence of the tance–voltage (C–V) measurements [10], [20]–[23] turns out to
increase of the average energy of carriers due to degeneracy. be overestimated: Fig. 4 shows the equivalent oxide thickness
We therefore conclude that a QM treatment can be applied of the polysilicon capacitance as a function of the oxide
to the polysilicon gate. However, more detailed calculations or electric field, according to a classical and a quantum model.
measurements are needed to exactly assess the magnitude of For positive oxide fields (i.e., polysilicon depletion), both
scattering at high doping concentrations and its possible influ- treatments converge to the same depletion-limited behavior. On
ence on the QM effects in polysilicon. the other hand, for low-positive or negative fields (accumulated
polysilicon) a constant value of about 0.3 nm is approached in
IV. GATE CAPACITANCE the quantum treatment, largely independent of the polysilicon
doping, due to the dark-space effect. The classical polysilicon
A. Oxide Thickness capacitance [24] is instead expected to
Fig. 3 shows the simulated low-frequency gate capacitance continuously decrease as the device is brought further in
for an nMOS capacitor with an oxide thickness of 5 nm, a con- accumulation; however, an almost constant value is reached,
stant substrate doping of cm , and a polysilicon doping due to the weak dependence of the screening length on carrier
SPINELLI et al.: ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF MOS TRANSISTORS 2369
the same for the two cases. Hence, more inversion charge is
collected at the substrate side for a given gate bias. Polysilicon
quantization then determines a negative threshold voltage shift,
as opposed to channel-carrier quantization which induces a pos-
itive shift.
From the above qualitative discussion, one expects the
strength of the dipole and the amount of threshold shift to
strongly depend on the polysilicon doping level. Fig. 9 shows
the simulated threshold voltage shift with respect to a purely
classical model, plotted as a function of the oxide thickness.
The substrate doping is cm , and results are shown for
Fig. 8. Same as Fig. 7, but referred to the electrostatic potential.
polysilicon doping ranging from cm to cm .
When quantization at the substrate side only is taken into ac-
nm, where the majority carrier concentration is smaller than the
count, a positive voltage shift ranging from about 75 mV to 125
active doping concentration. For a polysilicon doping of
mV is obtained, which is slightly dependent on the polysilicon
cm , this implies that a fixed positive charge sheet of about
doping, due to the small voltage drop it sustains (see dashed
cm exists. At threshold, the channel charge is still neg-
and dot-dashed lines in Fig. 9). Conversely, quantization at the
ligible, while the total negative depletion charge in the substrate
polysilicon/oxide interface leads to a negative threshold voltage
is typically of the order of a few cm . In order to achieve
shift which is strongly dependent on the polysilicon doping:
charge neutrality for the entire system, an extra electron distribu-
For cm , the negative voltage shift is about 80
tion in the polysilicon must supply the necessary compensating
mV, significantly offsetting traditional results obtained with a
negative charge. This distribution is visible in the curve labeled
classical simulation of the polysilicon. Moreover, it is worth
“QM ” in Fig. 1, as a low “bump” of electrons peaked at a
pointing out that the threshold voltage shift due to poly quan-
depth of around 2 nm. The presence of two substantial charge
tization is independent of the treatment (CL or QM) adopted
sheets, one positive and one negative, offset by about 1 nm,
for the substrate. This explains why traditional investigations
causes an electric dipole. In the space comprised between the
of QM effects in MOSFETs have not revealed such a negative
two charge sheets a finite voltage is dropped, which is visible as
shift. An accurate determination of this effect would require
a threshold voltage shift of the order of several tens of millivolts.
a detailed experimental analysis over devices with different
The effect of the charge dipole on the electric field and elec-
polysilicon doping and the same substrate doping. Note also
trostatic potential is illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8, respectively.
that polysilicon quantization leads to a threshold voltage shift
While in the classical solution the electric field smoothly in-
which is not dependent on the oxide thickness, the charge
creases toward the oxide interface, the quantum solution pre-
dipole being located within the gate.
dicts first a negative peak due to the extra electrons, then a rapid
rise to a positive value at the interface, corresponding to the de-
pleted space charge within the dark-space region. The negative VI. CONCLUSION
electric-field peak causes a “kink” in the electrostatic potential, We have investigated the effects of quantization at the polysil-
leading to an increased oxide field, since the total voltage drop icon/oxide interface, showing that the existence of the abrupt
between the polysilicon neutral region and the silicon bulk is discontinuity in potential energy leads to a dark space depleted
SPINELLI et al.: ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF MOS TRANSISTORS 2371
of free carriers of the order of 2 to 3 nm. For polysilicon dop- [21] S. V. Walstra and C.-T. Sah, “Thin oxide thickness extrapolation from
ings in the mid-high cm the dark space overrides the capacitance-voltage measurements,” IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, vol.
44, pp. 1136–1142, July 1997.
classical polysilicon depletion layer, affecting the device char- [22] W. K. Henson et al., “Estimating oxide thickness of tunnel oxides down
acteristics in all regions of operation. In accumulation, polysil- to 1.4 nm using conventional capacitance-voltage measurements on
icon quantization leads to a reduction in the gate capacitance MOS capacitors,” IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 20, pp. 179–181,
Apr. 1999.
and can be described at first order as an increase in the effective [23] C.-H. Choi, J.-S. Goo, and C. H. Diaz, “MOS C-V characterization of ul-
oxide thickness. In inversion, physical parameters like polysil- trathin gate oxide thickness (1.3–1.8 nm),” IEEE Electron Device Lett.,
icon doping can be incorrectly estimated. Quantization creates vol. 20, pp. 292–294, June 1999.
[24] C. T. Sah, Fundamentals of Solid State Electronics, Singapore: World
a charge dipole within the polysilicon which generates a nega- Scientific, 1991.
tive threshold voltage shift. The shift is independent of the oxide [25] B. Riccò, R. Versari, and D. Esseni, “Characterization of the polysil-
thickness and substrate doping and depends on the polysilicon icon-gate depletion in MOS structures,” IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol.
17, pp. 103–105, Mar. 1996.
doping. A negative shift of about 80 mV is computed with a
doping of cm , comparable with values obtained from
conventional substrate quantization.
Alessandro S. Spinelli (M’99) was born in in Bergamo, Italy, in 1966. He re-
ceived the Laurea (cum laude) and Ph.D. degrees in electronics engineering from
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[9] F. Rana, S. Tiwari, and D. A. Buchanan, “Self-consistent modeling of Champaign, working on Monte Carlo simulation of
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