Atomistic approach to variability of bias-temperature instability in circuit simulations

Abstract

A blueprint for an atomistic approach to introducing time-dependent variability into a circuit simulator in a realistic manner is demonstrated. The approach is based on previously proven physics of stochastic properties of individual gate oxide defects and their impact on FET operation. The proposed framework is capable of following defects with widely distributed time scales (from fast to quasi-permanent), thus seamlessly integrating random telegraph noise (RTN) effects with bias temperature instability (BTI). The use of industry-standard circuit simulation tools allows for studying realistic workloads and the interplay of degradation of multiple FETs.