MOSFETMetalOxideSemiconductorFieldEffectTransistor

Themostcommonfieldeffecttransistorinbothdigitalandanalogcircuits.

Useschannelofnorptypesemiconductor,namedNMOSFETandPMOSFET,respectively.

Siliconisthemainchoiceofsemiconductorused,howeverSiGeisusedbysomechipmanufacturers.

SomeothermorecommonsemiconductorssuchasGaAsarenotusefulinMOSFETsbecausetheydonotform
goodgateoxides.
Atthegateterminaliscomposedaofalayerofpolysiliconwithathinlayerofsilicondioxidewhichactsasan
insulatorbetweenthegateandtheconductingchannel.
Wheninoperationapotentialisappliedbetweenthesourceandgate,generatinganelectricfieldthroughtheoxide
layer,creatinganinversionchannelintheconductingchannel,alsoknownasadepletionregion.
Theinversionchannelisofthesametypeasthesourceanddrain,creatingachannelinwhichcurrentcanpass
through.Inthecaseofntypeasshownontheright,thechargecarrierswillbeholes.
Byvaryingthepotentialbetweenthegateandbody,thischannelinwhichcurrentflowscanbealteredtoallow
moreorlessorcurrenttoflowthrough,dependingonitssize.

BipolarJunctionTransistor
Firstcreatedin1948byBell

Telephone

SimilartotheMosfet
Reliableundersevereconditions
dominantinautomobiles

NPNandPNP

DigitallogiccircuitsBoolean

DownfallsofBJTLargebasecurrent,ib,isneeded
toturntransistoron.
Electronsandholescontributetoconductionwhich
slowsdowntheswitchingspeed.
LinearoperationBJTneedstobebiasedaroundthe
Qpointdeterminedfromacurvetracer.

IntroductiontoNEMS

Nanoelectromechanicalsystems(NEMS)arenanoscalemachines,computers,sensors,actuators,devices
andsystemswithdimensionstypicallylessthan100nm.
Theyrepresentacombinationofsemiconductorprocessingandmechanicalengineeringonanextremely
smallscale.
TounderstandwhatNEMSare,oneshouldfirstunderstandwhatanelectromechanicaldeviceis:

Oneofthefirstknownelectromechanicalsystemswasbuiltin1785byCharlesAugustinedeCoulombto
measureelectricalcharge.

Regardlessofthescaleofthedevice,mostelectromechanicaldevicescontaintwoprinciplecomponents:

Themechanicalelementdeflectsorvibratesinresponsetoanappliedforce.Therearetwotypesof
responsesforthemechanicalelement:

1)Theelementcansimplydeflectfromanappliedforce

2)Theelementvibratesnaturallyandachangeinamplitudeofoscillationoccurs.

Thetransducerconvertsthemechanicalenergytoelectricalenergyorviceversa.Insomecases,the
transducerjustkeepsthemechanicalelementvibratingsteadilywhileitscharacteristicsaremonitored.
Whenthesystemisperturbed,thesignalsarethenmeasuredtodeterminethesizeoftheappliedforce.

Shrinkingtheelectromechanicaldevices

Morethan150yearsafterCoulombsfirstdocumentedelectromechanicaldevice,ayoungmannamed
WilliamMcLellan(picturedatbottomleft)wonapublicchallengebycreatingamotorthatwas
1/64thofaninchinsize.Hecreateditusingtweezersandamicroscope.

Sincethattime,motorshundredsoftimessmallerthanMcLellanshavebeencreated,thanksto
microelectromechanicalsystems(firmlyestablishedinthemid80s).Devicesonthescaleof
micrometersinsize(seepictureatbottomright)were,andstillareusedformanythingstomakeour
livesmoreconvenient,including

Digitalprojectorsthatcontainmillionsofelectricallydrivenmicromirrors.

Microscalemotiondetectorsusedforautomobileairbagdeployment.

Beingusedinallsortsofcomputerstocreatemoretechnologyinmuchlessspace.

Thelatestchallengehasnowbecomecreatingnanoelectromechanicalsystems,howeverthereare
problemsthatmustfirstbesolvedasthephysicsofnanoscaledeviceschangesbecauseofthetiny
sizes.

NEMSanditsattributes

TheprocessofcreatingNEMSinvolvesmuchmorethanjustscalingdown
MEMS.

Newphysicalphenomenaassociatedwithinterfaces,surfaces,andatomic
scalesmustbeconqueredaswegoevensmallerintothenanoscale.

Someproblemsthatpeoplearedealingwithtodayinclude:

Understandingofnewphysicsatthenanoscalelevel.

Characterizationofthelengthscalewherecontinuumtheoriesbreakdown.

Communicatingsignalsfromthenanoworldtothemacroscopicworld,etc.

Astimepasses,NEMSholdpromisetorevolutionizeabilitiestomeasure
smalldisplacementsandforcesatamolecularscale.Someattributesinclude:

Fundamentalfrequenciesinthe1100GHz

Mechanicalqualitiefactorsintherangeof1000to10,000

Massesinthefemtogramrange

ForcesensitivitiesattheattoNewtonlevel

PowerconsumptioninattoWatts,shortresponsetime,etc.

PotentialofNEMS

NEMSiscurrentlyusedfordoingthingsforalldifferentaspectsoflifeincludingmetrologyand
fundamentalscience,detectingchargesbymechanicalmethods,thermaltransportstudiesandastime
passesithasthepossiblityforsomuchmore:

NEMShaspotentialforenormousbenefitsinmedicineandbiotechnologyincluding

Sensingofindividualcells

Sensingofindividualproteins

SensingofDNA

Designoflowpowerswitches

Nanomechanicalresonatorsforultrasensitivedetectionofadsorbedmass

Radiofrequencydevicesforcomputing

Nanotweezers

Ultrahighdatastorage,andmore!

Mark Cianchetti

Silicon Nanopillars for Electron

Shuttling Transistor
A.

B.

Figure 1: Diagram of shuttling transistor

Background Information:
Mechanical resonators are able to
operate in the high frequency (GHZ)
domain.
This device will operate at room
temperature.
Vibrating arm is one-thousand times
thinner than a human hair.
Device is manufactured in a two step
process.

Nanolithography

Dry Etching
Device Structure:
The gold aligning the top of the device
serves as a mask and conducting
material for current transport.
It will be assumed that the current is
measured coming out of the drain, and
the bias voltage is applied at the
source.

Mark Cianchetti

A.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

DeviceExcitation

Stimulating the device:

Excess charge present on the shuttle is necessary to start the device.
Due to the interaction between the applied AC signal and the charge on the shuttle, the
island will begin to resonant.
Resonation occurs only if the AC signal (frequency) matches one of the mechanical
eigenmodes.
The resonant frequencies can be varied by changing the width or length of the pillar
silicon pillar.
The DC bias voltage does not have to applied in order to stimulate the device (The DC
bias serves to finely tune the current that travels through the device).

Figure 2: Transistor device and applied voltages

Mark Cianchetti

IVCharacteristics

Figure 3: Definition of X(t)

The AC current that flows through the

device is determined by the instantaneous
voltage when X(t) is maximum.

X(t) being maximum corresponds to the

island being right beside the drain.

The instantaneous voltage at this point is

defined by the frequency of the AC signal.
1.

If the AC signal frequency is equal to

the resonating frequency, Vsd is
equal to 0 volts.

2.

If the AC frequency is greater than

the resonating frequency, Vsd is
negative.

3.

If the AC signal frequency is less

than the resonating frequency, Vsd
is positive.

Figure 4: X(t) versus Vsd(t)

**An applied DC voltage (Image iii) in Figure 4 serves to
slightly increase or decrease the phase shift.

Mark Cianchetti

ContinuedIVCharacteristics
A.
1.

2.

3.

Figure 5: IV characteristics of transistors

operating at different resonating
frequencies.

Current/Voltage Characteristics:
When the AC voltage applied at the
source has a frequency equal to the
resonating frequency, net current = 0

Shown by label (ii) in Figure 3.

When the frequency of the AC signal is
less than the resonating frequency, net
current is negative.

Shown by label (i) in Figure 3.

When the AC voltage applied at the
source has a frequency greater than the
resonating frequency, net current is
positive

Shown by label (iii) in Figure 3.

**The electrons are able to be transported from the island to either the drain or source due to electron
tunneling. Co-tunneling will not occur due to the large distance when X(t) is maximized or minimized.

**It should be noted that the current is AC current. When negative and positive current is described
above, this simply means the AC current signals are 180 degrees out of phase.

All Pictures and Information gathered from Silicon nanopillars for mechanical single-electron transport
by Dominik Scheible and Robert Blick

Advantagesofusingsingleelectrontransistor

Due to its small size, low energy consumption and very high sensitivity , Single Electron Transistor has many
application in many areas, the most exciting feature is the potential to fabricate them in large scale and use them in
modern computing as well as other complex electronic devices. Single Electron Transistor , due to their smaller size ,
could eventually lead to advances such as much tinier semiconductor chips ; more powerful and yet less power
hungry cell phones, long lived remote sensors ,

SET withstand radiation much better than traditional MOSFET or BJT and work purely through electronic means ,
making it suitable for satellite electronics or other devices that are bombarded by high radiation levels.

SET also exhibit higher signal to noise ratios for signal processing operations, unlike conventional transistors that
always allow small amount of current or electrons to leak through in off state, this results in background signal. In
SET the tiny arm is inactive in off state and is non oscillating with absolute no contact with either electrode. This
property make it impossible for floe of background current impossible.

Sensitivity of SET is much better than the sensitivity of MOSFET, making SET an ideal component to be used in
extremely precise solid state electrometers ( a device used to measure chrge). Also the gate of SET can be coupled
with some molecules which enhances its application in chemical signal transduction( process for measuring chemical
properties). SET transistors are already used in MESOSCOPIC physics experiments that have required extreme
charge sensitivity.

SET can be used as memory cells since the state of Coulomb island can be changed by existence of single electron.
This can make SET the best candidate for producing memory of greater capacity . The read write of the memory
fabricated using SET is about 20ns ,and retention time of such memory can be days to weeks. Properties of memory
using SET are far more advantageous than that of a CMOS. Memory made with SET(SET incorporated into silicon)
can store a terabit of data in a square centimeter of standard silicon, a data density of about 100 times greater than the
memory made with conventional transistors.

A single electron transistor incorporated in silicon circuitry ,is immune to interference . SET fabricated in this way
could result in ultra fast single electron processor and is compatible with standard semiconductor fabrication proces,
enabling manufacturers to push beyond conventional microchip technology without abandoning their multibillion
dollar investment in production capacity.

The fact that SET have a periodic transfer function, it can be used in multi valued logic and in analog to digital
converters (for example flash ADCs) with fewer circuit elements.

SET can solve one of the greatest problem being faced by conventional chip technology; as more and more transistors
are packed together ,heat becomes harder to dissipate as hundreds and thousands of electron go through a
conventional transistor and switching to on and off takes at least one volt. In contrast a single electron transistor
turned on and off by just one electron, runs cool , and only consume one tenth as much power.

Main problems with SET

Although SET promises a great future and have several unique features but still SET suffers from number of major
drawbacks. It is not yet clear whether electronics based on SET will replace conventional circuits based on scaled
down versions on field effect transistors .However if the pace of miniaturization continues unabated , it will be
crucial to implement SETs in electronic devices by next decade. Some problems with SETs are listed below.

SETs suffer from offset charges which means that the gate voltage needed to achieve maximum current varies
randomly from device to device, such fluctuations makes it impossible to built complex circuits.

To use SET at room temperature large quantities of monodispersed nanoparticles (less than 10nm) in diameter must be
synthesized. It is very difficult to fabricate large quantities of SETs by conventional lithography and semi conducting
process.

SET that will operates in normal environment will require features as small as one or two nanometers across ( which is
as small as a size of a molecule), today's semiconductor industry is quite far away from doing that controllably. Also
SETs that operate at room temperature suffer from problems like low gain , high impedance and background charges.

No room temperature SET Logic or memory scheme can be accepted as being practical. Methods must be developed for
connecting the individual structures in pattern that can function as logic circuit, these circuits must be arranged into
larger 2D patterns.

For a SET to work at room temperature , the capacitance of the island( as described in previous slides) must be less than
10^-17F and therefore its size must be smaller than 10nm .

and the
Future
SET offers a solution at theConclusion
quantum level, through
precise perspective
control of a small number of individual electrons.
The ultra-low power consumption of SET also promises new levels of performance for mobile applications. SET
operates by injecting or ejecting a single electron into or from a dot of silicon, so producing a change in electronic
potential. That change must overcome thermal agitation. In order to achieve optimized smallness of the dot essential for
SET operation at a finite temperature (for example, operation at room temperature) demands a nanometer-scale
structure. This has proved to be very difficult to achieve. Experiments with ultra-thin silicon on an insulator has
confirmed the ability to achieve a cluster of nanometer-scale dots, which was used to fabricate single-electron
transistors that operate even at room temperature. Some device manufacturers have also achieved the desired memory
function, as the circuit can store an electron in the valleys of electronic potential. This confirms that the SET can operate
intelligently by storing information and performing actions based on its instructions. The SET fabrication process is
fully compatible with that of conventional CMOS , and some semiconductor manufacturers have successfully devised a
hybrid system of SET and CMOS on a single chip. This has provided clear confirmation of the functionality of the chip's
simple circuit, its memory operation and of operation based on the information stored in the device. Semiconductor
device manufacturers are continuously working to refine SET, towards the intelligent self-learning and selfdevelopment capabilities.

MOSFETOperation

TheMOSFETcanbecategorizedintothreeseparatemodeswhenin
operation.
Thefirstisthesubthresholdorcutoffmode:VGS<Vt,whereVt
isthethresholdvoltage.IntheexampleshownVt=1V.Inthis
modethedeviceisessentiallyoff,andintheidealcasethereisno
currentflowingthroughthedevice.
ThesecondmodeofoperationisthelinearregionwhenVGS>Vt
and
VDS<VGSVt.Essentially,theMOSFEToperatessimilartoa
resistorinthismodewithalinearrelationbetweenvoltageand
current.
Lastly,saturationmodeoccurswhenVGS>VtandVDS>VGS
Vt.Inthismodetheswitchisonandconducting,howeversince
drainvoltageishigherthanthegatevoltage,partofthechannelis
turnedoff.Thismodecorrespondstotheregiontotherightofthe
dottedline,whichiscalledthepinchoffvoltage.
PinchoffoccurswhentheMOSFETstopsoperatinginthelinear
regionandsaturationoccurs.
IndigitalcircuitsMOSFETSareonlyoperatedinthelinearmode,
whilethesaturationregionisreservedforanaloguecircuits.

AdvancementsandLimitationsoftheMOSFET

TheexplosionofdigitaltechnologieshaspushedtheadvancementofMOSFETtechnologiesfasterthanany
otherSitransistor.ThishashappenedduetotheMOSFETbeingtheprimebuildingblockofCMOSdigital
logiccircuits.
CMOScircuitsareadvantageousbecausetheyallowvirtuallynocurrenttopassthroughandthusconsumevery
littlepower.ThisisdonebywiringeveryPMOSFETwithaNMOSFETinawaysuchthatwheneveroneis
conducting,theotherisnot.Thisnotonlyconservesenergybutalsohelpstoreduceheatdissipationwhich
otherwisewouldcausethecircuittofail.Overheatingisverymuchaconcernwhenconsideringtoday's
integratedcircuitscontainmillionsoftransistorsinarelativelysmallspace.
TheMOSFEThasbecomeincreasinglysmallerinthelastcoupledecades,today'sMOSFETSusedinICshavea
channellengthofabout100nanometers.MOSFETswhicharesmallerhavetwomainadvantages.Thefirstis
thatsmallerMOSFETsallowmorecurrenttopasssinceconceptuallyaMOSFETactsavariableresistorinthe
onstateandashorterresistorcorrespondstolessresistanceandenergydissipated.Secondly,thegatesare
smallerwhichmeansthecapacitanceislower,decreasingtheamountoftimeinwhichittakesthecapacitorto
charge,thusincreasingswitchingtimeandincreasingprocessingpower.Lastly,smallerMOSFETsresultin
moretransistorsperchip,thuseitherincreasingtheprocessingpowerperchiporreducingthecostperchip.
Recently,thesmallsizeofMOSFETshascreatedoperationalproblemsasproducingsuchtinytransistorsisan
enormouschallenge,oftenlimitedbyadvancesinsemiconductordevicefabrication.Alsoduethesmallsize,the
amountofvoltagethatcanbeappliedhastobereducedtokeepthedevicestable.Duetothesereduced
thresholdvoltages,whenthetransistoristurnedoffitwillstillconductasmallamountofcurrent.Thisisdueto
aweakinversionlayerwhichconsumespowerwhenthetransistorisoff,calledthesubthresholdleakage.
Previouslythiswasanonissuewithlargertransistors,howeverinthesmallerdevicesoftoday,thesub
thresholdleakagecanresultin50%ofthetotalpowerconsumptionofthetransistor.