Advanced technologies of electronic and optoelectronic components

M4C

Within the Design group, the Model For Circuit (or M4C) team aims to support the development of advanced and emerging technologies of electronic and optoelectronic devices to enable the design of integrated circuits.

The M4C team is thus interested in the compact modeling of active devices, while taking into account their reliability, in particular of heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT) or field effect transistors (FET), as well as unipolar transport photodiodes (UTC-PD).

The applications targeted by these technologies include very high-speed communications, both with electronic and optoelectronic devices, and hardware artificial intelligence via advanced conventional digital circuits and new digital circuit architectures enabling computing at the heart of the memory.

Characterisation, measurement techniques

The technologies studied, whether advanced or emerging, need to be characterised in order to extract their performance (extraction of figures of merit), as well as to extract model parameters. Several types of spike measurements can be performed.

RF characterisation up to 500 GHz

RF on-wafer measurements require the use of off-wafer and on-wafer calibration techniques adapted to frequency bands up to 500 GHz. Advanced de-embedding techniques also need to be developed where conventional methods cannot be applied. A strategy for the development and design of test structures for each technology under study is conducted by our team, in order to achieve acceptable measurement quality and accuracy up to 500 GHz.

Compact modelling, TCAD simulation

Compact models are an essential part of the design environment for integrated circuits, constituting a crucial intermediary between semiconductor process technology developers and integrated circuit designers. Based on physical modelling and TCAD simulations, compact models contain analytical equations that synthesise the transport mechanisms of charge carriers in transistors, while remaining more computationally efficient than TCAD simulations. We are developing compact models in Verilog-A for various semiconductor devices: advanced and emerging transistors, photodiodes, etc. The aim is to integrate these compact models into integrated circuit design libraries.

In close collaboration with our industrial and academic partners, we are also developing Verilog-A modules to improve existing compact models (such as HICUM), including noise and reliability models to take into account new mechanisms. This device modelling expertise of the M4C team enables the development of design tools for advanced high performance circuits.

Reliability assessment and analysis in digital and analog devices and circuits

Predicting the reliability of integrated circuits requires an in-depth knowledge of the operation of the elementary components and the ageing mechanisms. However, this knowledge is not sufficient: it is also necessary to identify the bi-directional link between transistor-scale degradation and the behaviour of the circuit in its electrical and thermal operating environment.

The compact transistor model integrating the ageing laws makes it possible, as early as the design phase – without waiting for the feedback from circuit tests – to simulate the functionality of the circuit during its use. Our original approach consists in making the value of the parameters of the compact model evolve during the simulation in parallel with its time scale.

For digital circuits, the modelling of degradation must go through the modelling of logic circuits, from the logic gate to the integrated circuit, taking into account the effects of ageing mechanisms, and operational conditions.

For both analog and digital circuits, the modelling is based on a detailed characterisation of ageing by measurements. For compact transistor modelling including ageing, measurements are performed on individual transistors on wafers. For digital circuits, the characterisation of the ageing of logic gates is carried out by the development of a precision auto-instrumentation implemented on FPGAs in the most advanced digital integrated circuits (Fin-FET 14nm).

M4C teams skills

Characterization, measurement techniques

Reliability assessment and analysis in digital and analog devices and circuits

Compact modeling, TCAD simulation

Partners

Collaborations and partners

For the various research projects underway, the IMS Bordeaux laboratory and its teams rely on strong partnerships and collaborations, which allow for the creation of a synergy of strengths and a sharing of technical and human resources

Industrial partners

Academic partners

University of Genova

BioCruces, Bilbao

M4C

Characterisation, measurement techniques

Compact modelling, TCAD simulation

Reliability assessment and analysis in digital and analog devices and circuits

M4C teams skills

Collaborations and partners

Latest news from the team

Staff

Contact our team