Overview and status of metal S/D Schottky-barrier MOSFET technology

Abstract

In this paper, the metal source/drain (S/D) Schottky-barrier (SB) MOSFET technology is reviewed. The technology offers several benefits that enable scaling to sub-30-nm gate lengths including extremely low parasitic S/D resistance (1% of the total device resistance), atomically abrupt junctions that enable the physical scaling of the device to sub-10-nm gate lengths, superior control of OFF-state leakage current due to the intrinsic Schottky potential barrier, and elimination of parasitic bipolar action. These and other benefits accrue using a low-thermal-budget CMOS manufacturing process requiring two fewer masks than conventional bulk CMOS. The SB-CMOS manufacturing process enables integration of critical new materials such as high-k gate insulators and strained silicon substrates. SB MOSFET technology state of the art is also reviewed, and shown to be focused on barrier-height-lowering techniques that use interfacial layers between the metal S/Ds and the channel region. SB-PMOS devices tend to have superior performance compared to NMOS, but NMOS performance has recently improved by using ytterbium silicide or by using hybrid structures that incorporate interfacial layers to lower the SB height.