Isolation edge effect depending on gate length of MOSFETs with various isolation structures

Abstract

The gate length (L) dependence of the isolation edge effect is investigated for MOSFETs with various isolation structures. We extract the isolation edge effect for a single L by comparing with an H-shaped gate MOSFET which did not have any influence from the isolation edges. For shallow trench isolation (STI), the isolation edge effect is enhanced for L around the onset of the short channel effect (SCE) and is more prominent for a trench edge with a deeper dip. On the other hand, for the local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) isolation with an elevated field oxide edge (i.e., the bird's beak), the isolation edge effect operates in the opposite direction against the cases of STI, though it is enhanced around the SCE appearance point. The L dependence is successfully explained using the charge sharing model where the charge shared by the mixing effect between the SCE and the (inverse) narrow width effect [(I)NWE] is introduced at the channel corners. The enhancement of the isolation edge effect results from that the fraction of the charge shared by the mixing effect depends on L. In addition, the difference between STI and LOCOS occurs because the mixing effect for STI is opposite to that for LOCOS.