Advanced MOSFET Structures and Processes for Sub-7nm CMOS Technologies

The remarkable proliferation of information and communication technology (ICT) – which has had dramatic economic and social impact in our society – has been enabled by the steady advancement of integrated circuit (IC) technology following Moore’s Law, which states that the number of components (transistors) on an IC “chip” doubles every two years. Increasing the number of transistors on a chip provides for lower manufacturing cost per component and improved system performance. The virtuous cycle of IC technology advancement (higher transistor density  lower cost / better performance  semiconductor market growth  technology advancement  higher transistor density etc.) has been sustained in this way for 50 years. Semiconductor industry experts predict that the pace of increasing transistor density will slow down dramatically in the sub-20 nm (minimum half-pitch) regime. Innovations in transistor design and fabrication processes are needed to address this issue.