Abstract
In order to achieve the faster operation speed, lower power consumption, and higher packing density, the advanced complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect-transistors (CMOSFETs) has become the prevailing device for silicon very-large-scale-integrated (VLSI) circuits. However, complex manufacturing technologies, new materials, and new device architectures will strongly influence on low-frequency noise (flicker noise, 1/f noise) characterization and device reliability. The main topic of this thesis is the flicker noise characterization in advanced MOSFETs, including strained SiGe-channel with highly compressive stressing layer devices, high-κ/metal-gate with gadolinium (Gd) cap layer devices, and symmetric double-gate (DG) SOI-FinFETs. We demonstrated that the SiGe-channel device with a highly compressive contact-etching stop-layer (CESL) interlayer-dielectric-SiNx stressing layer have higher drain current, effective mobility and lower flicker noise than conventional SiGe-channel and bulk-Si devices. However, the device reliability is degraded while integrating with the CESL stressing layer. It may be due to more Si-H bonds exist in gate-oxide and at the oxide/Si interface when a highly compressive CESL stressing layer is deposited. For the high-κ/metal-gate NMOSFET with Gd cap layer, we demonstrated that incorporated nitrogen could suppress Gd diffusion in a high-κ gate-dielectric and thus reduce the interfacial- and bulk-trap densities. The device performance, hot-carrier instability (HCI) and flicker noise characterization can be improved apparently. The flicker noise characterization of symmetric DG p-channel SOI-FinFETs with varied aspect ratio of Si-fin (the fin height/the fin width) from weak- to strong-inversion is also investigated in this thesis. We demonstrated that the device performance of thinner Si-fin width (Wfin) devices might be degraded due to the parasitic source/drain (S/D) series resistance effect. Moreover, in high current region, the parasitic S/D series resistance also strongly influences the flicker noise characterization, especially in higher Si-fin height (Hfin) devices.