Characterization of charge sharing induced by high LET heavy ions using inverter chains in a commercial bulk FinFET process

Abstract

Abstract The inverter is one of the most important cell types in any standard cell library at each technology node, and it is also very important for single-event research. The distributions and cross-sections of single-event transients (SETs) and single-event multiple transients (SEMTs) were characterized using 14/16 nm bulk fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) inverters under heavy ion radiation. An inverter with double driving strength (INVX2) was used as an instantiate object to observe the SET and SEMT response. 181Ta with energies of 1891 GeV and 2000.5 MeV were used respectively in the experiments, of which the linear energy transfer (LET) values were 87.4 MeV cm2 mg−1 and 75.4 MeV cm2 mg−1. The test results indicated that: (a) the mean pulse widths of the SET and SEMT were less than 100 ps, and decreased with LET decreasing; (b) there was charge sharing between abutted INVX2 inverters placed horizontally, and the generation probability of SEMT induced by charge sharing was less than 1% even if the LET of heavy ion reached 87.4 MeV cm2 mg−1. The results were beneficial for a better understanding of SET and SEMT tolerance for inverters in FinFET technology.