Turning the world vertical: MOSFETs with current flow perpendicular to the wafer surface

Abstract

Tremendous progress in information technology has been made possible by the development and optimization of metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) devices. For the last three decades, the dimensions of the devices have been scaled down and the complexity of the integrated circuits increased according to Moore’s law. Further scaling of the devices has been predicted by the international technology roadmap for semiconductors (ITRS). To meet the future technological requirements, much effort has been expended on increasing the capabilities of MOSFETs. Both new materials and new designs have been introduced to maintain device scaling. Most new designs were improvements of the normal planar design of the device, such as SOI and ultrathin body devices. In so-called FinFET structures, current flows through a thin silicon fin and is controlled by two gates in parallel on both sides of the fin. Vertical MOSFET devices represent a new category. In these structures the planar arrangement of the source gate and drain is turned through 90° so that they are positioned on top of each other and the current flow is perpendicular to the surface. By utilizing the 3rd dimension, the channel length can be adjusted by layer deposition and thus dispensing with advanced (and expensive) lithography. Furthermore, depending on the application, the vertical designs require less space than planar ones so that it is possible to increase integration density. The present paper gives a review of vertical MOSFET devices with current flow perpendicular to the surface.