Introduction to CMOS VLSI Design

Layout, Fabrication, and Elementary Logic Design

Introduction
Integrated circuits: many transistors on one chip. Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI): very many Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) transistor Fast, cheap, low-power transistors Complementary: mixture of n- and p-type leads to less power Today: How to build your own simple CMOS chip CMOS transistors Building logic gates from transistors Transistor layout and fabrication Rest of the course: How to build a good CMOS chip
Fabrication and Layout CMOS VLSI Design Slide 2

Silicon Lattice
Transistors are built on a silicon substrate Silicon is a Group IV material Forms crystal lattice with bonds to four neighbors
Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 3

Dopants
Silicon is a semiconductor Pure silicon has no free carriers and conducts poorly Adding dopants increases the conductivity Group V: extra electron (n-type) Group III: missing electron, called hole (p-type)
Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si Si B Si Si Si

+ -

As Si

Si

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 4

p-n Junctions
A junction between p-type and n-type semiconductor forms a diode. Current flows only in one direction

p-type anode

n-type cathode

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 5

nMOS Transistor
Four terminals: gate, source, drain, body Gate oxide body stack looks like a capacitor Gate and body are conductors SiO2 (oxide) is a very good insulator Called metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) capacitor Source Gate Drain Polysilicon Even though gate is SiO2 no longer made of metal
n+ p n+ bulk Si

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 6

nMOS Operation
Body is commonly tied to ground (0 V) When the gate is at a low voltage: P-type body is at low voltage Source-body and drain-body diodes are OFF No current flows, transistor is OFF
Source Gate Drain Polysilicon SiO2
0

n+ p

n+
S D

bulk Si

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 7

nMOS Operation
When the gate is at a high voltage: Positive charge on gate of MOS capacitor Negative charge attracted to body Inverts a channel under gate to n-type Now current can flow through n-type silicon from source through channel to drain, transistor is ON
Source Gate Drain Polysilicon SiO2
1

n+ p

n+
S D

bulk Si

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 8

pMOS Transistor
Similar, but doping and voltages reversed Body tied to high voltage (VDD) Gate low: transistor ON Gate high: transistor OFF Bubble indicates inverted behavior
Source Polysilicon SiO2 Gate Drain

p+ n

p+ bulk Si

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 9

Power Supply Voltage

GND = 0 V In 1980s, VDD = 5V VDD has decreased in modern processes High VDD would damage modern tiny transistors Lower VDD saves power VDD = 3.3, 2.5, 1.8, 1.5, 1.2, 1.0,

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 10

Transistors as Switches
We can view MOS transistors as electrically controlled switches Voltage at gate controls path from source to drain
g=0 d nMOS g s s d ON s s s d OFF s d OFF g=1 d ON

d pMOS g

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 11

CMOS Inverter
A
0 1

VDD A Y

GND
Fabrication and Layout CMOS VLSI Design Slide 12

CMOS Inverter
A
0 1 0

VDD OFF
A=1 Y=0

ON
A Y

GND
Fabrication and Layout CMOS VLSI Design Slide 13

CMOS Inverter
A
0 1

Y
1 0

VDD ON
A=0 Y=1

OFF
A Y

GND
Fabrication and Layout CMOS VLSI Design Slide 14

CMOS NAND Gate

A 0 0 B 0 1 Y

Y A B

1
1

0
1

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 15

CMOS NAND Gate

A 0 0 B 0 1 Y 1

ON A=0 B=0

ON Y=1 OFF OFF

1
1

0
1

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 16

CMOS NAND Gate

A 0 0 B 0 1 Y 1 1

OFF A=0 B=1

ON Y=1 OFF ON

1
1

0
1

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 17

CMOS NAND Gate

A 0 0 B 0 1 Y 1 1

ON A=1 B=0

OFF Y=1 ON OFF

1
1

0
1

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 18

CMOS NAND Gate

A 0 0 B 0 1 Y 1 1

OFF A=1 B=1

OFF Y=0 ON ON

1
1

0
1

1
0

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 19

CMOS NOR Gate

A 0 0 B 0 1 Y 1 0

A B Y

1
1

0
1

0
0

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 20

3-input NAND Gate

Y pulls low if ALL inputs are 1 Y pulls high if ANY input is 0

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 21

3-input NAND Gate

Y pulls low if ALL inputs are 1 Y pulls high if ANY input is 0

Y A B C
Fabrication and Layout CMOS VLSI Design Slide 22

CMOS Fabrication
CMOS transistors are fabricated on silicon wafer Lithography process similar to printing press On each step, different materials are deposited or etched Easiest to understand by viewing both top and cross-section of wafer in a simplified manufacturing process

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 23

Inverter Cross-section
Typically use p-type substrate for nMOS transistor Requires n-well for body of pMOS transistors Several alternatives: SOI, twin-tub, etc.
A GND Y VDD SiO2 n+ diffusion n+ n+ p substrate nMOS transistor pMOS transistor p+ n well p+ p+ diffusion polysilicon metal1

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 24

Well and Substrate Taps

Substrate must be tied to GND and n-well to VDD Metal to lightly-doped semiconductor forms poor connection called Shottky Diode Use heavily doped well and substrate contacts / taps
A GND Y VDD

p+

n+

n+ p substrate

p+ n well

p+

n+

substrate tap

well tap

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 25

Inverter Mask Set

Transistors and wires are defined by masks Cross-section taken along dashed line

GND nMOS transistor substrate tap pMOS transistor well tap

VDD

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 26

Detailed Mask Views

Six masks n-well Polysilicon n+ diffusion p+ diffusion Contact Metal
n well

Polysilicon

n+ Diffusion

p+ Diffusion

Contact

Metal

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 27

Fabrication Steps
Start with blank wafer Build inverter from the bottom up First step will be to form the n-well Cover wafer with protective layer of SiO2 (oxide) Remove layer where n-well should be built Implant or diffuse n dopants into exposed wafer Strip off SiO2

p substrate

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 28

Oxidation
Grow SiO2 on top of Si wafer 900 1200 C with H2O or O2 in oxidation furnace

SiO2

p substrate

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 29

Photoresist
Spin on photoresist Photoresist is a light-sensitive organic polymer Softens where exposed to light

Photoresist SiO2

p substrate

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 30

Lithography
Expose photoresist through n-well mask Strip off exposed photoresist

Photoresist SiO2

p substrate

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 31

Etch
Etch oxide with hydrofluoric acid (HF) Seeps through skin and eats bone; nasty stuff!!! Only attacks oxide where resist has been exposed

Photoresist SiO2

p substrate

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 32

Strip Photoresist
Strip off remaining photoresist Use mixture of acids called piranah etch Necessary so resist doesnt melt in next step

SiO2

p substrate

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 33

n-well
n-well is formed with diffusion or ion implantation Diffusion Place wafer in furnace with arsenic gas Heat until As atoms diffuse into exposed Si Ion Implanatation Blast wafer with beam of As ions Ions blocked by SiO2, only enter exposed Si
SiO2 n well

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 34

Strip Oxide
Strip off the remaining oxide using HF Back to bare wafer with n-well Subsequent steps involve similar series of steps

n well p substrate

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 35

Polysilicon
Deposit very thin layer of gate oxide < 20 (6-7 atomic layers) Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) of silicon layer Place wafer in furnace with Silane gas (SiH4) Forms many small crystals called polysilicon Heavily doped to be good conductor
Polysilicon Thin gate oxide n well p substrate

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 36

Polysilicon Patterning
Use same lithography process to pattern polysilicon

Polysilicon

Polysilicon Thin gate oxide n well p substrate

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 37

Self-Aligned Process
Use oxide and masking to expose where n+ dopants should be diffused or implanted N-diffusion forms nMOS source, drain, and n-well contact

n well p substrate

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 38

N-diffusion
Pattern oxide and form n+ regions Self-aligned process where gate blocks diffusion Polysilicon is better than metal for self-aligned gates because it doesnt melt during later processing

n+ Diffusion

n well p substrate

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 39

N-diffusion
Historically dopants were diffused Usually ion implantation today But regions are still called diffusion

n+

n+ n well p substrate

n+

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 40

N-diffusion
Strip off oxide to complete patterning step

n+

n+ n well p substrate

n+

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 41

P-Diffusion
Similar set of steps form p+ diffusion regions for pMOS source and drain and substrate contact

p+ Diffusion

p+

n+

n+ p substrate

p+ n well

p+

n+

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 42

Contacts
Now we need to wire together the devices Cover chip with thick field oxide Etch oxide where contact cuts are needed

Contact

Thick field oxide p+ n+ n+ p substrate p+ n well p+ n+

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 43

Metallization
Sputter on aluminum over whole wafer Pattern to remove excess metal, leaving wires

Metal

Metal Thick field oxide p+ n+ n+ p substrate p+ n well p+ n+

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 44

Layout
Chips are specified with set of masks Minimum dimensions of masks determine transistor size (and hence speed, cost, and power) Feature size f = distance between source and drain Set by minimum width of polysilicon Feature size improves 30% every 3 years or so Normalize for feature size when describing design rules Express rules in terms of l = f/2 E.g. l = 0.3 mm in 0.6 mm process
Fabrication and Layout CMOS VLSI Design Slide 45

Simplified Design Rules

Conservative rules to get you started

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 46

Inverter Layout
Transistor dimensions specified as Width / Length Minimum size is 4l / 2l, sometimes called 1 unit For 0.6 mm process, W=1.2 mm, L=0.6 mm

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 47

Summary
MOS Transistors are stack of gate, oxide, silicon Can be viewed as electrically controlled switches Build logic gates out of switches Draw masks to specify layout of transistors

Now you know everything necessary to start designing schematics and layout for a simple chip!

Fabrication and Layout

CMOS VLSI Design

Slide 48