Trends in semiconductor technology

1. Trends in semiconductor technology Jurriaan Schmitz Chairholder of Semiconductor Components MESA+ institute University of Twente Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

2. The Microstrip Gas Counter and its application in the ATLAS inner tracker Fragment of my introductory talk, October 14, 1994: We want to use the MSGC in an experiment named ATLAS. Unfortunately this will only be conducted from the year 2002 onwards. DISCLAIMER: Consider my upcoming statements on the future of CMOS as predictive as the above Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

3. Contents • MOSFET basics • The start of MOS technology • Moore’s Law • The ITRS roadmap • Modern CMOS technology • The challenges ahead • The role of academia Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

4. p-n junction: current can only flow one way! Semiconductor diode Semiconductor essentials n-type doped semiconductor e.g. silicon with phosphorus impurity electrons determine conductivity p-type doped semiconductor e.g. silicon with Al impurity holes determine conductivity Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

5. - - - - depletion - - - - - - - - - - inversion The field effect + + + + + + + + accumulation Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

6. - - - - - - - - - - Id (A) VG (V) The field effect transistor gate source drain Gate voltage controls the current between source and drain Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

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8. The first transistor (re-created) Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

9. Germanium Kilby’s first IC 1.5 mm x 1 mm Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

10. Fairchild’s flip-flop 1961 4 transistors, 5 resistors Notice metal interconnect 1.5 mm Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

11. RCA, 1962 Logic chip, 16 transistors First MOSFET IC Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

12. 5 10 Gordon Moore 1965 Fairchild 4 10 3 10 Number of components per chip Moore’s Law (1965) Progress in technology: At the same cost, one can add more and more components on a chip. The number of components doubles each 1.5 years. 2 10 1 10 0 10 1960 1965 1970 1975 Year Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

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14. 1976: Apple I motherboard 1981: The first PC: IBM’s 5150 PC Intel microprocessor DOS operating system Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

15. INTEL microprocessors Number of transistors Year Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

16. Reflections on Moore’s Law • Exponential growth with time is universal:passenger airplanes, cargo ships, hard disk drives, nuclear fusion, …Collider energy? Luminosity? • …but only for a while! • So: it’s not particularly Moore’s; and it’s not a law. Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

17. Concorde Velocity (km/hour) Wright brothers year Technology driven exponential progress Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

18. Impact of Moore’s Law • Device dimensions shrink (scaling) • Cost per function decreases (~ 35% per year) • Power per function decreases • Speed increases • … application field of semiconductors increases! (e.g. personal computers, handheld telephones, solid state audio, speech recognition) Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

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20. You might still consider this big… Modern transistor Influenza virus Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

21. fT (GHz) Gate Length (nm) What does CMOS scaling bring us? Higher frequency operation Cheaper integrated circuits (25% p.y.) Lower power operation 1950, 6$ 2000, 145$ Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

22. But also… Reduced static noise margin Increased gate leakage • Lower supply voltage • Smaller devices, larger fluctuations Higher price for small quantities • # Masks increases • Mask cost increases • Fab COO increases Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

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24. Transistor Technology Well Technology Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

25. Transistor downscaling • Reduction of gate length (lithography) • Increase of impurity concentrations • Decrease of gate dielectric • Reduction of source and drain dimensions Brews’ Law: Lmin = 0.4 [ xj tox (Ws + Wd)2 ]1/3 • Lmin: minimum gate length with normal behaviour • xj: source and drain depth • tox: gate dielectric thickness • Ws, Wd: depletion widths of source and drain junctions Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

26. Lithography EUV prototype Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

27. The interconnect shrink 0.5 µm technology 0.1 µm technology Cu Al SiO2 Low-K W Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

28. The Red Brick Wall(s) Further scaling of the circuit: • Atomic dimensions are in sight • Gate dielectric needs replacement • Gate electrode needs replacement • Interconnect becomes a speed and power bottleneck The economy: • Fabrication plants get too expensive to build (3 B$) • Semiconductor market is too big to grow much further Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

29. The power problem Power per transistor decreases; but not the power density! Fortunately, most ICs do better than Pentiums… Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

30. Atomic dimensions and the loss of information Quantum fluctuations Dissipation problems Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

31. Semiconductor economy Traditional scaling can no longer facilitate the strong market growth seen in the past 1) The semiconductor industry has acquired a strong position in the total electronics market 2) New technology generations show progressively less benefits over their predecessor Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

32. The design and verification gaps Do we want nanotechnology? Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

33. Semiconductor market development 2000 Annual turnover (G$) 2001 Actual (Dataquest) 2002 Forecast (6% growth) No clear trend - a mature market? Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

34. Research at MESA+ MESA+: 18 participating chairs from TN, CT, and EL Nanotechnology, microsystems, materials science and microelectronics ~ 400 people, including over 200 PhD’s and postdocs Yearly turnover ~ 31M€ • 1250 m2 fully equipped clean room • A materials analysis laboratory • Several satellite laboratories Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

35. Running projects IC-technology Devices Reliability High-k ALCVD Micro Gas sensors ESD in CMOS STW EU Philips Cool dielectrics Deuterium dielectrics E-T-M in interconnect FOM Philips FOM Cu barriers ALCVD 1/f noise Plasma damage STW Philips STW Reliable RF Light from Silicon STW STW NEW NEW Ends soon Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

36. Submitted new projects IC-technology Devices Reliability NBTI Philips SmartOxides EU Planned new projects Low Temp devices Vulcano High K reliability STW STW STW Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente

37. Outlook • There is still plenty of room at the bottom • Standard CMOS scaling will end soon • New technologies will emerge; NOT for ordinary computing • Light-silicon interaction: huge potential, physics? • Novel devices may well include particle detectors… Jurriaan Schmitz, University of Twente