Effect of radiation induced charging on gate-all-around NMOS devices

Abstract

The need for more reliable and radiation hard complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor compatible devices coupled with an ever increasing shrinkage of device dimensions has led naturally to interest in metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors having nontraditional geometries. One such geometry is the gate-all-around transistor, which has been suggested to be less sensitive than its planar counterpart to the effect of charge build-up at the semiconductor–insulator interface such as that induced by irradiation. In order to explore the radiation hardness of such a structure, the effect of radiation on gate-all-around n-type metal–oxide–semiconductor devices was investigated by computing the effect of charging on the threshold voltage of the device. The radiation sensitivity in ideal structures is explored, and the greater radiation sensitivity found experimentally in some devices is explained.