Design and characteristics of the lightly doped drain-source (LDD) insulated gate field-effect transistor

The LDD structure, where narrow, self-aligned n^-regions are introduced between the channel and the n⁺source-drain diffusions of an IGFET to spread the high field at the drain pinchoff region and thus reduce the maximum field intensity, is analyzed. The design is shown, including optimization of the n^-dimensions and concentrations and the boron channel doping profile and an evaluation of the effect of the series resistance of the n^-regions on device transconductance. Characteristics of experimental devices are presented and compared to those of conventional IGFET´s. It is shown that significant improvements in breakdown voltages, hot-electron effects, and short-channel threshold effects can be achieved allowing operation at higher voltage, e.g., 8.5 versus 5 V, with shorter source-drain spacings, e.g., 1.2 versus 1.5 µm. Alternatively, a shorter channel length could be used for a given supply voltage. Performance projections are shown which predict 1.7 × basic device/circuit speed enhancement over conventional structures. Due to the higher voltages and higher frequency operation, the higher performance results in an increase in power which must be considered in a practical design.