Title :
Identification of gate electrode discontinuities in submicron CMOS technologies, and effect on circuit performance
Author :
Jenkins, Keith A. ; Burghartz, Joachim N. ; Agnello, Paul D.
Author_Institution :
IBM Res. Div., IBM Thomas J. Watson Res. Center, Yorktown Heights, NY, USA
fDate :
5/1/1996 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
An experiment to determine the effect of gate electrode resistivity on circuit speed gave unexpected results: circuits with the lowest sheet resistance had the poorest circuit speed. Explanation of this behaviour required development of a new high-frequency method of measuring the impedance of the gate electrode. This method revealed that the circuits with a composite gate electrode had been formed with a partial discontinuity. The measurement technique is described, and the evidence of the discontinuity is shown. The effect of the discontinuity on device and circuit speed is demonstrated
Keywords :
CMOS integrated circuits; VLSI; electric impedance measurement; integrated circuit measurement; network analysers; circuit performance; circuit speed; electrode resistivity; gate electrode discontinuities; high-frequency method; impedance measurement; partial discontinuity; sheet resistance; submicron CMOS technologies; CMOS technology; Conductivity; Conductors; Delay; Electrodes; Integrated circuit interconnections; Inverters; MOS devices; Silicides; Threshold voltage;
Journal_Title :
Electron Devices, IEEE Transactions on
