METHOD FOR RAPID ESTIMATION OF LAYOUT-DEPENDENT THRESHOLD VOLTAGE VARIATION IN A MOSFET ARRAY
An automated method for estimating layout-induced variations in threshold voltage in an integrated circuit layout. The method begins with the steps of selecting a diffusion area within the layout for analysis. Then, the system identifies Si/STI edges on the selected area as well as channel areas and their associated gate/Si edges. Next, the threshold voltage variations in each identified channel area are identified, which requires further steps of calculating threshold voltage variations due to effects in a longitudinal direction; calculating threshold voltage variations due to effects in a transverse direction; and combining the longitudinal and transverse variations to provide an overall variation. Finally, a total variation is determined by combining variations from individual channel variations.
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This is a continuation of pending U.S. application Ser. No. 12/510,938 filed 28 Jul. 2009, which is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/757,335 filed 1 Jun. 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,584,438, which are incorporated herein in their entirety.
BACKGROUNDThe invention relates to integrated circuit devices, and more particularly to the estimation of layout sensitivity in a transistor array.
It has long been known that semiconductor materials such as silicon and germanium exhibit the piezoelectric effect (mechanical stress-induced changes in electrical resistance). See for example C. S. Smith, “Piezoresistance effect in germanium and silicon”, Phys. Rev., vol. 94, pp. 42-49 (1954), incorporated by reference herein. It has also been observed that stress variations in a transistor array can produce variations in carrier mobility, which in turn leads to variations in threshold voltage in the transistors of the array. That problem, and a solution for it, are set out in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/291,294, entitled “Analysis of Stress Impact on Transistor Performance”, assigned to the assignee hereof.
Further study has shown, however, that beyond stress impact on electron and hole mobilities, layout also affects threshold voltage, suggesting some additional factor at work. Variations encountered have been far from trivial, with swings of over 20 mV being common. The art has not suggested any potential causes for such problems, nor has it presented solutions. Thus, it has remained for the present inventors to discover the cause of such variations and to devise solutions, all of which are set out below.
SUMMARYAn aspect of the invention is an automated method for estimating layout-induced variations in threshold voltage in an integrated circuit layout. The method begins with the steps of selecting a diffusion area within the layout for analysis. Then, the system identifies Si/STI edges on the selected area as well as channel areas and their associated gate/Si edges. Next, the threshold voltage variations in each identified channel area are identified, which requires further steps of calculating threshold voltage variations due to effects in a longitudinal direction; calculating threshold voltage variations due to effects in a transverse direction; and combining the longitudinal and transverse variations to provide an overall variation. Finally, a total variation is determined by combining variations from individual channel variations.
The following detailed description is made with reference to the figures. Preferred embodiments are described to illustrate the present invention, not to limit its scope, which is defined by the claims. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize a variety of equivalent variations on the description that follows.
The claimed invention can best be understood by first considering an illustrative MOS transistor 10, shown in
Surprisingly, it has been found that even after eliminating stress-induced threshold voltage variations, a large amount of variation remained within a transistor array. As reflected in
It was noted that one difference between a point in the channels of transistors 110 and 112, compared to a similar point in transistor 114 is the distance from such a point to the two surrounding STI walls. Further investigation led to the data charted in
A clue to what is happening at the lattice level can be gained by returning to
Based on these results, it was hypothesized that the issue could relate to recombination of interstitial atoms from the damaged areas in the crystal lattice. As shown in
Referring back to
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/757,294, entitled “Method For Suppressing Layout Sensitivity of Threshold Voltage in a Transistor Array,” naming the two inventors hereof and owned by the assignee of this application, teaches and claims a method for smoothing the variations in threshold voltage resulting from TED.
The description herein will also be assisted if the following definitions are established. As shown in
The embodiment of
Referring to
In step 212, the system identifies the channel region of the selected transistor and performs initial calculations. In one embodiment, TCAD layout analysis software is employed to accomplish this task readily. This step is best visualized in connection with
In the embodiment set out in
In steps 214 and 216, the threshold voltage shifts in the X and Y directions are approximated. (As used herein, the term “approximation” includes exactness as a special case. Therefore it is possible that in some instances the approximations developed in step 214, 216 will be exact.) These calculations require several process-dependent parameters: ΔVtmax, the maximum threshold voltage shift; αSTI, σSTI, and βSTI produced at the Si/STI interface; and αgate, and βgate produced at an Si/poly interface. As will be understood by those in the art, these parameters can be calculated, employing TCAD software systems generally available in the art, or a test structure can be fabricated, from which measurements can be made. In either event, once a set of parameters is developed for a given process flow, those parameters remain valid for all layouts fabricated under that process flow.
The methods of
The decay function employed in these calculations can be different for different embodiments, and for different dimensions of the layout. Because of the difficulty of deriving the true decay function from physical principles, most embodiments will only approximate it. Roughly, the function chosen should be strong but finite in the near field, asymptotically reducing to zero in the far field, and in the midfield it should behave somewhere in between. In a preferred embodiment the following decay function is used for X direction:
λi(x)=1/((x/iβi+εi) (1)
In eq. (1), αi, and βi are determined by several factors, including halo implant energy, the amount of implant damage produced by the source/drain implants, and the thermal budget for annealing. The values of αi, βi and εi, may be estimated using a full TCAD simulation or calibrated using electrical measurements of the test structures.
Other types of decay function approximations can be used in other embodiments. Another function type that might be used is the error function, erfc(r). In some embodiments, the decay function λi(r) might not be strictly monotonic, where r can be a distance in either the X or Y direction.
It has been found that the decay function set out in Eq. 1 provides the best results when calculating threshold voltage shifts in the X direction, while the error function, erfc, offers superior calculations for edges in the Y direction.
λi(y)=erfc(y/σ) (2)
The embodiment shown employs the complementary error function, erfc. Those in the art will understand that the non-complementary form of the error function, erf, can also be employed as well as some other mathematical functions with similar spatial behavior. The process 500 proceeds by looping through each relevant edge, in control block 510, and then applying the error function to the previously-gathered data for that edge, step 512, and then adding that result to a cumulative running threshold voltage shift, at step 514. The process continues until all edges have been processed, in step 516.
Note that the methods described herein can be performed by a system for automated estimation of layout-induced variations in threshold voltage in an integrated circuit layout, comprising a digital computer, including a processor, display means and data storage means, and a computer program, stored on the data storage means, which is configured to perform the steps described herein.
The foregoing description of preferred embodiments of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art.
The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.
While the present invention is disclosed by reference to the preferred embodiments and examples detailed above, it is understood that these examples are intended in an illustrative rather than in a limiting sense. It is contemplated that modifications and combinations will readily occur to those skilled in the art, which modifications and combinations will be within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the following claims.
Claims
1. An automated method for estimating layout-induced variations in threshold voltage in an integrated circuit layout, comprising the steps of:
- selecting a diffusion area within the layout for analysis;
- identifying STI edges on the selected area;
- identifying channel areas in the selected area; and
- for each given channel area identified in the step of identifying: using a computer, estimating threshold voltage variations due at least to Transient Enhanced Diffusion effects in the given channel area, in dependence upon distances between a point in the given channel area and the STI edges on the selected area; and using a computer, combining the threshold voltage variations estimated in the step of estimating threshold voltage variations due at least to Transient Enhanced Diffusion effects in the given channel area.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of estimating threshold voltage variations comprises the step of multiplying a maximum threshold voltage variation by a member of the group consisting of:
- a decay function of the form λi(r)=1/((r/αi)βi+εi); and
- a decay function having the form of the error function, erf(r); and
- a decay function having the form of the complimentary error function, erfc(r),
- where αi, βi, and εi, are process and material-related factors, and r is a distance between the point in the given channel area and an STI edge.
3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of estimating threshold voltage variations comprises the steps of:
- calculating threshold voltage variations due at least to Transient Enhanced Diffusion effects in a longitudinal direction, in dependence upon distances between a point in the given channel area and transversely oriented STI edges on the selected area; and
- calculating threshold voltage variations due at least to Transient Enhanced Diffusion effects in a transverse direction, in dependence upon distances between a point in the given channel area and longitudinally oriented STI edges on the selected area.
4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of estimating threshold voltage variations comprises the step of multiplying a maximum threshold voltage variation by a decay function which decreases with greater distance from the point, the decay function being dependent further upon an amount of crystal lattice damage introduced by source/drain implantation.
5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of estimating threshold voltage variations comprises the step of multiplying a maximum threshold voltage variation by a decay function which decreases with greater distance from the point, the decay function being dependent further upon a halo implant energy.
6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the decay function is dependent further upon a thermal budget for annealing.
7. A system for automated estimation of layout-induced variations in threshold voltage in an integrated circuit layout, comprising:
- a digital computer, including a processor and data storage means storing a computer program configured to perform the steps of:
- selecting a diffusion area within the layout for analysis;
- identifying STI edges on the selected area;
- identifying channel areas in the selected area; and
- for each given channel area identified in the step of identifying:
- estimating threshold voltage variations due at least to Transient Enhanced Diffusion effects in the given channel area, in dependence upon distances between a point in the given channel area and the STI edges on the selected area; and
- combining the threshold voltage variations estimated in the step of estimating threshold voltage variations due at least to Transient Enhanced Diffusion effects in the given channel area, in dependence upon distances between a second point in the given channel area and the STI edges on the selected area.
8. A system according to claim 7, wherein the step of estimating threshold voltage variations comprises the step of multiplying a maximum threshold voltage variation by a member of the group consisting of:
- a decay function of the form λi(r)=1/((r/αi)βi+εi); and
- a decay function having the form of the error function, erf(r); and
- a decay function having the form of the complimentary error function, erfc(r),
- where αi, βi and εi, are process and material-related factors, and r is a distance between the point in the given channel area and an STI edge.
9. A system according to claim 7, wherein the step of estimating threshold voltage variations comprises the steps of:
- calculating threshold voltage variations due at least to Transient Enhanced Diffusion effects in a longitudinal direction, in dependence upon distances between a point in the given channel area and transversely oriented STI edges on the selected area; and
- calculating threshold voltage variations due at least to Transient Enhanced Diffusion effects in a transverse direction, in dependence upon distances between a point in the given channel area and longitudinally oriented STI edges on the selected area.
10. A system according to claim 7, wherein the step of estimating threshold voltage variations comprises the step of multiplying a maximum threshold voltage variation by a decay function which decreases with greater distance from the point, the decay function being dependent further upon an amount of crystal lattice damage introduced by source/drain implantation.
11. A system according to claim 7, wherein the step of estimating threshold voltage variations comprises the step of multiplying a maximum threshold voltage variation by a decay function which decreases with greater distance from the point, the decay function being dependent further upon a halo implant energy.
12. A system according to claim 11, wherein the decay function is dependent further upon a thermal budget for annealing.
13. Data storage means for use with a digital computer having a processor, the data storage means having stored thereon a computer program configured to perform the steps of:
- selecting a diffusion area within the layout for analysis;
- identifying STI edges on the selected area;
- identifying channel areas in the selected area; and
- for each given channel area identified in the step of identifying:
- estimating threshold voltage variations due at least to Transient Enhanced Diffusion effects in the given channel area, in dependence upon distances between a point in the given channel area and the STI edges on the selected area; and
- combining the threshold voltage variations estimated in the step of estimating threshold voltage variations due at least to Transient Enhanced Diffusion effects in the given channel area, in dependence upon distances between a second point in the given channel area and the STI edges on the selected area.
14. Data storage means according to claim 13, wherein the step of estimating threshold voltage variations comprises the step of multiplying a maximum threshold voltage variation by a member of the group consisting of:
- a decay function of the form λi(r)=1/((r/αi)βi+εi); and
- a decay function having the form of the error function, erf(r); and
- a decay function having the form of the complimentary error function, erfc(r),
- where αi, βi and εi, are process and material-related factors, and r is a distance between the point in the given channel area and an STI edge.
15. Data storage means according to claim 13, wherein the step of estimating threshold voltage variations comprises the steps of:
- calculating threshold voltage variations due at least to Transient Enhanced Diffusion effects in a longitudinal direction, in dependence upon distances between a point in the given channel area and transversely oriented STI edges on the selected area; and
- calculating threshold voltage variations due at least to Transient Enhanced Diffusion effects in a transverse direction, in dependence upon distances between a point in the given channel area and longitudinally oriented STI edges on the selected area.
16. Data storage means according to claim 13, wherein the step of estimating threshold voltage variations comprises the step of multiplying a maximum threshold voltage variation by a decay function which decreases with greater distance from the point, the decay function being dependent further upon an amount of crystal lattice damage introduced by source/drain implantation.
17. Data storage means according to claim 13, wherein the step of estimating threshold voltage variations comprises the step of multiplying a maximum threshold voltage variation by a decay function which decreases with greater distance from the point, the decay function being dependent further upon a halo implant energy.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 31, 2012
Publication Date: May 16, 2013
Applicant: Synopsys, Inc. (Mountain View, CA)
Inventors: VICTOR MOROZ (SARATOGA, CA), DIPANKAR PRAMANIK (SARATOGA, CA)
Application Number: 13/731,969