Performance Analysis of Nanoscaled FinFET

JAYPEE INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, NOIDA

(U.P.)

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

MINOR PROJECT 2024-2025

Supervisor : Dr. Ajay Kumar
Submitted to :
Submitted by :
Dr Shradha Saxena
Vanshika Sharma (22102125)
Dr Nisha Venkatesh
Vaibhav Bhatt (22102153))
Priyam Nandi (22102088)
CONTENTS
• Introduction to FinFET
• Historical Development:
• Types of FinFET
• Importance in Modern Devices:
• Why FinFET?
• Scope: Global
• Electrostatic Characteristics
• Tools Used: Silvaco TCAD
• Features of TCAD
• Work Methodology
• CONCLUSION
Introduction to
FinFET
What is FinFET?

• FinFET (Fin Field-Effect Transistor) is a 3D transistor used in modern high-

performance devices.
• It provides improved control over the channel, reducing leakage currents
and enhancing performance in comparison to traditional planar MOSFETs.

Key Features:
• 3D structure with a fin-shaped channel
• High scalability for nanoscale fabrication
• Enhanced gate control for reduced power consumption
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

• FinFET was developed to address scaling challenges in traditional planar transistors as technology moved
to sub-20nm nodes. As transistors became smaller, issues like short-channel effects and power leakage
became more significant.
• Intel pioneered the use of FinFET in 2012 with their 22nm Tri-Gate technology, marking the first
commercial use of 3D transistors. This provided a 60% power reduction or 37% performance
improvement compared to planar transistors.
• After Intel, TSMC and Samsung incorporated FinFETs in their 16nm and 14nm nodes, respectively, and later
extended it to 7nm and 5nm processes.
• FinFET’s 3D structure (vertical “fin”) increased gate control over the channel, mitigating leakage and
allowing further scaling without sacrificing performance.
Types of FinFET

Shorted-Gate (SG) FinFET (also known as 3-terminal Independent-Gate (IG) FinFET (also known as 4-
(3T) FinFET): terminal (4T) FinFET):

• In SG FinFETs, the front and back gates are • In IG FinFETs, the gates are physically isolated,
physically shorted. allowing separate control of the front and back gates.
• Both gates work together to control the channel • This allows for back-gate biasing to modulate the
electrostatics. threshold voltage of the front gate.
• SG FinFETs typically have a higher on-current and • While IG FinFETs offer more flexibility, they incur a
higher off-current due to the combined gate higher area penalty due to the need for separate
control. gate contacts.
Importance in Modern Devices:

• FinFET technology is now the foundation of

high-performance chips in CPUs, GPUs, and
SoCs used in smartphones, data centers, and AI
• systems.
It offers significant advantages over planar
transistors, such as reduced leakage current,
higher drive current, and better scalability,
which are critical for power efficiency and
performance at smaller nodes (e.g., 7nm,
• 5nm).
FinFET's 3D structure improves gate control,
allowing for higher switching speeds and lower
power consumption, enabling faster and more
energy-efficient devices.
Why FinFET?
FinFETs address challenges faced by conventional transistors. They
improve performance and efficiency while enabling continued
miniaturization.

1 Superior Performance 2 Scalability

Enhanced electrostatic control FinFET is more scalable than
reduces leakage current and traditional MOSFETs, allowing the
short-channel effects, making semiconductor industry to push
FinFETs ideal for nanoscale towards sub-5nm nodes.
devices.

3 Power Efficiency 4 Reliability

FinFET technology offers reduced Better control of the transistor
switching power, which is critical channel enables higher
for battery-powered devices like operational speeds, which directly
smartphones and laptops. translates to improved processing
performance.
Scope: Global
FinFET technology is used in various applications, ranging from
consumer electronics to high-performance computing. It is a
critical technology for driving innovation in semiconductors.

• Used in advanced semiconductor manufacturing for

mobile processors, data centers, and artificial
intelligence (AI) applications.
• Increasing demand for FinFET transistors driven by the
need for more power-efficient and high-performance
device.

Major companies like Intel, Continuous scaling down to

TSMC, and Samsung are 5nm and below is enabling
driving innovation using faster, smaller, and more
FinFET technology. power-efficient electronics.
Electrostatic Characteristics
The performance of FinFETs is highly influenced by their gate geometry and fin structure, which directly affect
their behavior and performance:

Gate Length Gate Width Fin Height

The length of the gate controls the The width of the gate influences the The height of the fin determines how
channel size, which impacts the current carrying capacity of the much current can flow through the
switching speed and performance. A transistor. A wider gate allows more current channel. Taller fins provide a larger
shorter gate length enables faster switching to flow, improving the transistor's on-state effective channel width, which increases
but can lead to short-channel effects if current. the current flow and improves the overall
not properly managed. drive strength of the FinFET.
Tools Used: Silvaco TCAD
Silvaco TCAD (Technology Computer-Aided Design) is a comprehensive software
suite used in the semiconductor industry for designing and simulating various
electronic devices and processes. It provides a powerful platform for engineers and
researchers to analyze and optimize the performance, power consumption, and
reliability of integrated circuits (ICs).

Device Simulation Tools:

• ATLAS: A versatile device simulator for modeling a wide range of

semiconductor devices, including MOSFETs, bipolar transistors, and diodes.
• TCAD-S: A specialized device simulator for simulating advanced device
structures, such as FinFETs and GAAFETs.
• TCAD-Q: A quantum-mechanical device simulator for modeling nanoscale devices.
FEATURES OF TCAD

DevEdit TonyPlot
A tool in Silvaco TCAD used A visualization tool used to
for building and editing display and analyze the
2D/3D device structures. It results of simulations.
allows customization of Provides detailed graphical
regions, materials, and representations of electrical,
device geometry with thermal, and optical
precise control over mesh properties, enabling deep
generation. analysis of device
performance.
Work Methodology
Timeline of work progress in Phase 1 of MINOR PROJECT 1

1 Installation & Familiarization:

The first phase involved installing Silvaco TCAD software and understanding its core tools like
DeckBuild, DevEdit, and TonyPlot.

2 Building Structures
Started with examples and learned how to build simple structures in TCAD

3 Building the FinFET Structure:

A nanoscale FinFET structure was created using DevEdit with precise region definitions (source, drain,
gate, silicon oxide). Mesh constraints were set, and the structure was visualized in TonyPlot .
3D VIEW OF FINFET : TOP VIEW OF FINFET :
CONCLUSION

Key Takeaways:

• FinFET technology offers superior control over short-channel effects, scalability, and power efficiency.
• The project aims to demonstrate the performance of a nanoscale FinFET using Silvaco TCAD tools,
providing valuable insights into its advantages over traditional MOSFETs.

Future Work:

Further optimization of the FinFET structure could be done by varying the fin dimensions and exploring multi-gate
configurations for even better performance.
 REFERENCES

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