Self-Heating and Radiation Hardness Studies of 3nm GAA-FET-Based SRAM with Different Substrate Isolation Techniques

2026-07-06

AI Summary

This work investigates the self-heating effects and radiation tolerance of 3 nm gate-all-around field-effect transistor (GAA-FET) static random-access memory (SRAM) under different substrate isolation schemes. Using three-dimensional full-device TCAD simulations, the study systematically evaluates conventional source/drain bottom dielectric isolation (SD-BDI), punch-through stoppers (PTS), and a newly proposed channel-BDI (C-BDI) structure. Results demonstrate that all configurations are immune to alpha-particle-induced single-event upsets. BDI significantly enhances radiation hardness irrespective of its thickness. Notably, C-BDI effectively suppresses off-state leakage without requiring PTS, exhibits negligible self-heating, and maintains robust static noise margin, thereby delivering superior overall performance.

Abstract

In this work, 3D full-domain 3 nm gate-all-around field-effect transistor (GAA-FET) static random access memories (SRAMs) with various substrate isolation techniques are simulated using Technology Computer-Aided Design (TCAD). In addition to the traditional bottom dielectric isolation (BDI), which isolates the source/drain (S/D) from the substrate (dubbed SDBDI), and the punch-through stopper (PTS), a novel channel-BDI (C-BDI) is proposed, allowing S/D-to-substrate connection. The self-heating effect and radiation hardness due to various isolation techniques are studied. It is found that, firstly, the increase in self-heating due to BDI is negligible. Secondly, in the novel CBDI, even without PTS, the increase in leakage current IOFF is minimal. Thirdly, for SD-BDI with underlap (to minimize stress relaxation), while IOFF increases, the static noise margin (SNM) remains unchanged and robust against single-event upset (SEU) even if the underlap is as much as 20 nm. Finally, all structures are immune to the alpha-particle SEU, and BDI enhances the radiation hardness substantially. Moreover, radiation hardness is insensitive to BDI thickness.

Problem

• self-heating
• radiation hardness
• GAA-FET
• SRAM
• substrate isolation

Innovation

• GAA-FET
• substrate isolation
• self-heating
• radiation hardness
• C-BDI