Physics of electron mobility independent of channel orientation in n-channel transistors based on (100) silicon wafers and its experimental verification

Abstract

The six degenerate ellipsoid model can be used to study the effects of channel orientation on electron mobility. However, this approach has two assumptions: (i) the conduction band minimum near the interface between gate dielectric and silicon channel is the same as that of bulk silicon, (ii) the momentum relaxation time is independent of the channel orientation. This letter shows that the effective conductivity electron mass of (100) surface-oriented silicon is independent of channel orientation even though the actual conduction band minimum may be slightly different from the six degenerate ellipsoid model. Experimental data are provided to support our theory.