A thorough Investigation of Negative Capacitance Model for Ferroelectric-Gated MOSFETs

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PROJECT ABSTRACTProposal Title:Negative Capacitance: Scientific Facts or Fiction - A Thorough Examination of Ferroelectric-Gated Field-Effect Transistor ModelsNontechnical AbstractThe concept of “negative capacitance” (NC), recently brought to light, is one of the most novel and exciting ideas that emerged in the last decade or so in the semiconductor community, as it promises to enable field-effect transistor (FET) integrated circuits (ICs) to perform at speeds exceeding the limit predicted by the conventional theory, even with reduced power consumption. Consequently, many researchers and engineers throughout the world have been actively working on various aspects of NC transistors since its introduction, resulting in numerous publications with varying degrees of quality and sensibility. The research reports have caused wide spread confusion and conflicting conclusions. The objective of this research is to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the NC model of ferroelectric-gated FETs by conducting a thorough investigation of all aspects of this topic, and to disseminate widely the findings with a goal to foster its healthy development in the semiconductor community.Technical AbstractTo achieve this objective, an exhaustive study of the published literature will be made to thoroughly investigate both theoretical and experimental aspects of negative capacitance models of ferroelectric-gated field-effect transistors (FeFETs) in order to identify and to articulate valid as well as false claims. Many cleverly constructed experiments are proposed to confirm or debunk the prevailing NC models of FeFETs, and to convincingly expose the false claims as supported by the revelation of their underlying causes.The intellectual significance of this project stems from the fact that it addresses an issue of both intense scientific interest and significant technological importance. On the scientific side, the NC model is one of the most striking ideas in the last decade or so, which have generated intense interests in the semiconductor community worldwide. On the technological side, the NC associated with FeFETs promises to provide a very low subthreshold-swing solution just when the conventional scaling based on the Moore’s Law is nearing its end. The findings of this study are intended to provide an important and unbiased reference, if not the key reference, for the study of the negative capacitance in the context of FeFETs for next-generation integrated circuits.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.