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New paths to scaling advanced gatestack and channel material for next-generation CMOS

In the effort to enhance the advanced metal-high-k gate stack for next-generation logic devices, imec successfully demonstrated higher-k dielectric with Replacement Metal Gate (Metal-Gate-Last) transistors that achieved 200x-1000x reduction in gate leakage relative to leading-edge logic devices in the industry with HfO2 high-k gate dielectric. To address the process control and scalability of the replacement metal gate for nano-scale devices, imec achieved tight electrical distribution down to 20nm gate length through detailed process optimizations. By providing fundamental insights into work-function influences due to metal intermixing in aggressively-scaled metal gates, imec’s research addresses an important source of variability in advanced transistors.

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