Final Exam

Semiconductor Devices – 22-1 (Prof. Yeonghun Lee)

Student ID: Name:

Information: 54 points possible. Show your work. Partial credit can be given.

Answer the multiple choice questions below by circling the one, best answer.
1-a) Which of the following is true of 𝐶𝑜𝑥 (𝑉𝐺𝑆 − 𝑉𝑇 ) in an MOS capacitor with an p-type substrate? (Assume
that 𝑉𝐺𝑆 > 𝑉𝑇 > 0.) (3 pts)
a) It is the magnitude of the accumulation charge.
b) It is the magnitude of the depletion charge.
c) It is the magnitude of the inversion charge.
d) It is the magnitude of the total charge in the semiconductor.
e) It is the magnitude of the fixed charge at the oxide-semiconductor interface.

1-b) The effective channel length of a MOSFET in saturation decreases with increase in: (3 pts)
a) Gate voltage
b) Drain voltage
c) Source voltage
d) Body voltage
e) Gate voltage and drain voltage

1-c) The subthreshold swing is defined as: (3 pts)

a) The increase in gate voltage necessary to increase the drain current by a factor of 2.
b) The increase in gate voltage necessary to increase the drain current by a factor of 10.
c) The increase in drain voltage necessary to increase the drain current by a factor of 2.
d) The increase in drain voltage necessary to increase the drain current by a factor of 10.
e) The increase in source voltage necessary to increase the drain current by a factor of 10.

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1-d) What is the minimum subthreshold swing at 𝑇 = 200 K. (3 pts)
a) 40 mV/decade.
b) 60 mV/decade.
c) 90 mV/decade.
d) 100 mV/decade.
e) 120 mV/decade.

1-e) If we measure the IV characteristics of a transistor, what is the “signature” of velocity saturation inside
the MOSFET? (3 pts)
a) The drain current increases as (𝑉𝐺𝑆 − 𝑉𝑇 )1/2 .
b) The drain current increases as (𝑉𝐺𝑆 − 𝑉𝑇 )1 .
c) The drain current increases as (𝑉𝐺𝑆 − 𝑉𝑇 )3/2 .
d) The drain current increases as (𝑉𝐺𝑆 − 𝑉𝑇 )2 .
e) The drain current increases as (𝑉𝐺𝑆 − 𝑉𝑇 )5/2 .

1-f) Which of the following is NOT true of quantum confinement effects in a MOSFET? (3 pts)
a) It increases |𝑉𝑇 |.
b) It is significant when the density of states is small.
c) It increases the semiconductor capacitance.
d) The motion of the electrons perpendicular to the interface can be ignored.
e) Subbands are formed.

1-g) Which of the following is NOT true of effective mobility in a MOSFET? (3 pts)
a) It depends on transverse electric field.
b) It depends on longitudinal electric field along the channel.
c) Quantum confinement affects it
d) Surface roughness scattering dominates it in high transverse electric field.
e) The bulk mobility is a good approximation of it.

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1-h) Which of the following would be a considered good value of the common-emitter current gain 𝛽 of
a BJT? (3 pts)
a) 0.099.
b) 0.99.
c) 1.5.
d) 5.
e) 100.

2. List the four key assumptions adopted to analytically derive I-V of a MOSFET beyond 𝑉𝑇 in class. (5 pts)

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

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3. 𝐼𝐷 -𝑉𝐷𝑆 curve for an n-channel Si MOSFET is shown in the figure below.

ID (mA)

(1)
1.0

VDS (V)
2.0

The MOSFET parameters are as follows: 𝐿 = 1 μm, 𝑊 = 2.5 μm, 𝑡𝑜𝑥 = 10 nm, 𝑉𝑇 = 0.5 V, and the body-
effect coefficient 𝑚 = 1.4. In the nonsaturation region, I-V of the MOSFET is described by

𝑊 𝑚 2
𝐼𝐷 = 𝜇𝑛 𝐶𝑜𝑥 [(𝑉𝐺𝑆 − 𝑉𝑇 )𝑉𝐷𝑆 − 𝑉𝐷𝑆 ]
𝐿 2

a) What is the gate voltage, 𝑉𝐺𝑆 , that must be applied to obtain the I-V curve shown? (5 pts)

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b) What is the inversion-layer charge per unit area at the drain end of the channel when the MOSFET is
biased at point (1) on the curve? Also, on top of the figure below, sketch the inversion charge density and
the depletion region at the condition. (5 pts)

Metal
Oxide
n+ n+

c) Suppose the gate voltage is changed such that 𝑉𝐺𝑆 = 4 V. Determine 𝐼𝐷 at 𝑉𝐷𝑆 = 4 V. (5 pts)

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4. For a MOSFET operating in the subthreshold regime (𝑉𝐺𝑆 < 𝑉𝑇 ), the subthreshold swing is given by
′
𝑘𝑇 𝐶𝑆𝐷 (max)
𝑆 = ln(10) (1 + ),
𝑒 𝐶𝑜𝑥

where 𝐶𝑆𝐷
′
(max) is the maximum depletion-layer capacitance. The unit of 𝑆 is mV/decade. Consider an n-
channel Si MOSFET with the 𝑡𝑜𝑥 = 2 nm and 𝑁𝐴 = 2.5 × 1017 /cm3. The threshold voltage for this device is
defined to 𝑉𝐺𝑆 at which the drain current 𝐼𝐷 reaches 100 nA with 𝑉𝐷𝑆 = 0.05 V at 𝑇 = 300 K.

a) Find 𝑆. (5 pts)

b) If the leakage current must be less than 0.1 nA when 𝑉𝐺𝑆 = 0 V and 𝑉𝐷𝑆 = 0.05 V, what is the minimum
threshold voltage this device can have? Also, draw log 𝐼𝐷 -𝑉𝐺𝑆 curve and place appropriate values on the
curve. (5 pts)

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Potentially Useful Information

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The electron affinity 𝜒 of SiO2 is 0.9 eV

𝑘𝑇 𝑁𝑐
𝐸𝑐 − 𝐸𝐹 = ln ( )
𝑒 𝑁𝐷
𝑘𝑇 𝑁𝐴
𝜙𝑓𝑝 = ln ( )
𝑒 𝑛𝑖

2𝜖𝑠 𝜙𝑠
𝑥𝑑 = √
𝑒𝑁𝐴

𝜖𝑜𝑥
𝐶𝑜𝑥 =
𝑡𝑜𝑥

′ (max)
𝜖𝑠
𝐶𝑆𝐷 =
𝑥𝑑𝑇

𝑄𝑛 (𝑉) = −𝐶𝑜𝑥 (𝑉𝐺𝑆 − 𝑉𝑇 − 𝑚𝑉)

𝑊 (𝑉𝐺𝑆 − 𝑉𝑇 )2
𝐼𝐷 (𝑠𝑎𝑡) = 𝜇𝑛 𝐶𝑜𝑥
𝐿 2𝑚
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