Ernest Y. Wu

Bio: Ernest Y. Wu is an academic researcher from IBM. The author has contributed to research in topics: Time-dependent gate oxide breakdown & Breakdown voltage. The author has an hindex of 31, co-authored 145 publications receiving 3501 citations.

Recommended Methods to Study Resistive Switching Devices

Abstract: Resistive switching (RS) is an interesting property shown by some materials systems that, especially during the last decade, has gained a lot of interest for the fabrication of electronic devices, with electronic nonvolatile memories being those that have received the most attention. The presence and quality of the RS phenomenon in a materials system can be studied using different prototype cells, performing different experiments, displaying different figures of merit, and developing different computational analyses. Therefore, the real usefulness and impact of the findings presented in each study for the RS technology will be also different. This manuscript describes the most recommendable methodologies for the fabrication, characterization, and simulation of RS devices, as well as the proper methods to display the data obtained. The idea is to help the scientific community to evaluate the real usefulness and impact of an RS study for the development of RS technology. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Ultra-thin oxide reliability for ULSI applications

Abstract: In this article, we critically examine the limit of gate oxide scaling from a reliability point of view. The thickness dependence of the characteristic breakdown time (charge) and Weibull slope as well as the temperature dependence of oxide breakdown are measured with emphasis on accuracy. The failure modes of soft and hard breakdown events and their impact on device characteristics are reviewed. Using a two-dimensional reliability analysis, we explore the relative importance of characteristic breakdown time and Weibull slope in lifetime projection, and the possibilities of extending gate oxide beyond the currently predicted limit.

On the Weibull shape factor of intrinsic breakdown of dielectric films and its accurate experimental determination. Part I: theory, methodology, experimental techniques

Abstract: Critically examined several important aspects concerning the experimental determination of Weibull shape factors (slopes). Statistical characteristics of breakdown distribution such as area scaling property and the extreme-value distribution are reviewed. We discuss the experimental measurement methodology of time-to-breakdown (T/sub BD/) or charge-to-charge (Q/sub BD/) distributions with the emphasis on the accuracy. The influence of sample numbers on the estimation of Weibull distribution parameters such as characteristic T/sub BD/ and Weibull slopes are investigated in the context of confidence limits. Some examples of the measurement fallacy on Weibull slopes are given. Three different experimental techniques to measure Weibull slopes are described and compared in terms of their advantages and disadvantages. Finally, we will give a comparison of these three methods. Having established these fundamental aspects of the Weibull slope measurements, we will present our extensive experimental data on thickness, voltage, temperature, and polarity dependence of Weibull slopes in part II.

Reliability Wearout Mechanisms in Advanced CMOS Technologies

Abstract: Preface. 1 INTRODUCTION ( Alvin W. Strong ). 1.1 Book Philosophy. 1.2 Lifetime and Acceleration Concepts. 1.3 Mechanism Types. 1.4 Reliability Statistics. 1.5 Chi-Square and Student t Distributions. 1.6 Application. 2 DIELECTRIC CHARACTERIZATION AND RELIABILITY METHODOLOGY ( Ernest Y. Wu, Rolf-Peter Vollertsen, and Jordi Sune ). 2.1 Introduction. 2.2 Fundamentals of Insulator Physics and Characterization. 2.3 Measurement of Dielectric Reliability. 2.4 Fundamentals of Dielectric Breakdown Statistics. 2.5 Summary and Future Trends. 3 DIELECTRIC BREAKDOWN OF GATE OXIDES: PHYSICS AND EXPERIMENTS ( Ernest Y. Wu, Rolf-Peter Vollertsen, and Jordi Sune ). 3.1 Introduction. 3.2 Physics of Degradation and Breakdown. 3.3 Physical Models for Oxide Degradation and Breakdown. 3.4 Experimental Results of Oxide Breakdown. 3.5 Post-Breakdown Phenomena. 4 NEGATIVE BIAS TEMPERATURE INSTABILITIES IN pMOSFET DEVICES ( Giuseppe LaRosa ). 4.1 Introduction. 4.2 Considerations on NBTI Stress Configurations. 4.3 Appropriate NBTI Stress Bias Dependence. 4.4 Nature of the NBTI Damage. 4.5 Impact of the NBTI Damage to Key pMOSFET Transistor Parameters. 4.6 Physical Mechanisms Contributing to the NBTI Damage. 4.7 Key Experimental Observations on the NBTI Damage. 4.8 Nit Generation by Reaction-Diffusion (R-D) Processes. 4.9 Hole Trapping Modeling. 4.10 NBTI Dependence on CMOS Processes. 4.11 NBTI Dependence on Area Scaling. 4.12 Overview of Key NBTI Features. 5 HOT CARRIERS ( Stewart E. Rauch, III ). 5.1 Introduction. 5.2 Hot Carriers: Physical Generation and Injection Mechanisms. 5.3 Hot Carrier Damage Mechanisms. 5.4 HC Impact to MOSFET Characteristics. 5.5 Hot Carrier Shift Models. 6 STRESS-INDUCED VOIDING ( Timothy D. Sullivan ). 6.1 Introduction. 6.2 Theory and Model. 6.3 Role of the Overlying Dielectric. 6.4 Summary of Voiding in Al Metallizations 6.5 Stress Voiding in Cu Interconnects. 6.6 Concluding Remarks. 7 ELECTROMIGRATION ( Timothy D. Sullivan ). 7.1 Introduction. 7.2 Metallization Failure. 7.3 Electromigration. 7.4 General Approach to Electromigration Reliability. 7.5 Thermal Considerations for Electromigration. 7.6 Closing Remarks. Index.

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

Fundamentals of Modern VLSI Devices

Abstract: Learn the basic properties and designs of modern VLSI devices, as well as the factors affecting performance, with this thoroughly updated second edition. The first edition has been widely adopted as a standard textbook in microelectronics in many major US universities and worldwide. The internationally-renowned authors highlight the intricate interdependencies and subtle tradeoffs between various practically important device parameters, and also provide an in-depth discussion of device scaling and scaling limits of CMOS and bipolar devices. Equations and parameters provided are checked continuously against the reality of silicon data, making the book equally useful in practical transistor design and in the classroom. Every chapter has been updated to include the latest developments, such as MOSFET scale length theory, high-field transport model, and SiGe-base bipolar devices.

Semiconductor device, and manufacturing method thereof

Abstract: An object is to provide a semiconductor device of which a manufacturing process is not complicated and by which cost can be suppressed, by forming a thin film transistor using an oxide semiconductor film typified by zinc oxide, and a manufacturing method thereof. For the semiconductor device, a gate electrode is formed over a substrate; a gate insulating film is formed covering the gate electrode; an oxide semiconductor film is formed over the gate insulating film; and a first conductive film and a second conductive film are formed over the oxide semiconductor film. The oxide semiconductor film has at least a crystallized region in a channel region.

Alternative dielectrics to silicon dioxide for memory and logic devices

Abstract: The silicon-based microelectronics industry is rapidly approaching a point where device fabrication can no longer be simply scaled to progressively smaller sizes. Technological decisions must now be made that will substantially alter the directions along which silicon devices continue to develop. One such challenge is the need for higher permittivity dielectrics to replace silicon dioxide, the properties of which have hitherto been instrumental to the industry's success. Considerable efforts have already been made to develop replacement dielectrics for dynamic random-access memories. These developments serve to illustrate the magnitude of the now urgent problem of identifying alternatives to silicon dioxide for the gate dielectric in logic devices, such as the ubiquitous field-effect transistor.