Parasitic Resistance

Polysilicon gate
Drain
contact
G LD

VGS,eff

W
S D

RS RD

Drain
LS , D
RS , D = R + RC
W
Short Channel Effects
Channel-Length Modulation
Equation ID =
kn W
(VGS − VT )2 suggests that the transistor in the
2 L
saturation mode acts as a perfect current source. This is not entirely correct. The effective
length of the conductive channel is modulated by the applied VDS: increasing VDS causes the
depletion region at the drain to grow, reducing the length of the effective channel.

ID =
kn W
(VGS − VT )2 (1 + λVDS ) λ is the channel-length modulation ∝ 1/L
2 L

In short channels, the drain-junction depletion region presents a larger fraction of the channel,
and the channel-modulation effect is more pronounced. That’s why long channel transistors
are used when high-impedance current sources are designed.
 Velocity Saturation in short channel devices
The behavior of transistors with very short channel lengths deviates considerably from the resistive and
saturation models just presented, mainly due to the velocity saturation effect.
dV states that the carrier velocity is proportional to the electrical field, where the carrier
Equation υn = µn
dx
mobility is constant. However, at high (horizontal) field strengths, the carriers fail to follow this linear model.
When the electrical field along the channel reaches a critical value ξ C, the velocity of the carriers tend to
saturate due to scattering effects (collisions suffered by the carriers). For a ξ C = 1.5V/µm, 0.5V is required for
velocity saturation in a 0.25µm device. This condition
Is very easily met in contemporary short-channel

υ n (m /s)
Devices (It is easier to go into saturation
in contemporary devices).
υ = 105
This phenomenon has a profound impact on the sat
operation of the device. This is illustrated with a
first-order derivation of the device characteristics Constant velocity
Under velocity saturation. The velocity can be roughly
approximated by:

µ nξ for ξ ≤ ξ C
Constant mobility (slope = µ)
υn =
1+ ξ / ξC

= ν sat for ξ ≥ ξ C
ξ = 1.5 ξ (V/µm)
c
Velocity Saturation
The continuity requirement between the 2 regions dictates that ζ C = 2ν sat / µ n
In the resistive region, the drain current can be expressed as:
µn Cox W  VDS 
2

ID = ( ) (V − VT )V DS − 
1 + (VDS / ζ c L ) L  GS 2 
W  V DS 
2

= kn ( − ) − Κ (V DS )
L  2 
ID V GS V T V DS
1
The Κ(V) factor measures the degree of velocity saturation and is defined as Κ (V ) =
1 + (V / ξ C L )
Κ(V) = 1 for long channels or small V DS values. For short channels, Κ is less than 1, which
means that the delivered current is less than what would normally be expected.

When increasing V DS, the electrical field in the channel ultimately reaches the critical value, and the
carriers at the drain become velocity saturated. The saturation drain voltage V DSAT can be calculated
by equating the current at the drain under saturation conditions to the resistive current for VDS=VDSAT.

We get
 VDSAT 
2

(VGS − VT )VDSAT −
W
I DSAT = Κ (VDSAT ) µ nC ox 
L  2 
I DSAT = ν satC oxW VGS − VT − DSAT 
V
 2
Velocity Saturation
Increasing the drain-source voltage does I
not yield more current, and the transistor D
current saturates at I DSAT. This leads to Long-channel device
two observations:
V =V
GS DD
1) For a short-channel device and for large
enough values of V GS-VT, VDSAT< VGS-VT. Short-channel device
The device enters saturation before V DS
reaches V GS-VT. Short-channel devices
therefore experience an extended
saturation region, and tend to operate
more often in saturation conditions that
long-channels. V
DSAT V -V V
GS T DS
2) The saturation current I DSAT displays a
linear dependence with respect to V GS,
which is in contrast with the squared
dependence in the long-channel device.
This reduces the amount of current a
transistor can deliver for a given control
voltage
Current-Voltage Relations
The Deep-Submicron Era
-4
x 10
2.5

VGS= 2.5 V
Early Saturation
2

VGS= 2.0 V
1.5
I D (A)

Linear
1
VGS= 1.5 V Relationship

0.5 VGS= 1.0 V

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
VDS (V)
 ID versus VDS
Same technology, and identical W/L ratio
-4 -4
x 10 x 10
6 2.5
VGS= 2.5 V
Velocity saturation VGS= 2.5 V
5
2
Resistive Saturation
4 VGS= 2.0 V
VGS= 2.0 V 1.5

ID (A)
ID (A)

3
VDS = VGS - VT 1 VGS= 1.5 V
2
VGS= 1.5 V

1
0.5 VGS= 1.0 V
VGS= 1.0 V
0 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
VDS(V) VDS(V)

Long Channel (quadratic dependency bet. ID and V GS) Short Channel (linear dependency bet. ID and
VGS, and small V DSAT )
ID versus VGS
-4
x 10 -4
6 x 10
2.5

5
2

4 linear
quadratic 1.5
ID (A)

ID (A)
3
1
2

1 0.5
quadratic
0 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
VGS(V) VGS(V)

Long Channel Short Channel

Saturated devices (VDS=2.5V): Same technology, and identical W/L ratio