Implications of Work-Function Fluctuation on Radiation Robustness of FinFET XOR Circuits

Abstract

Traditional CMOS technology has reached its limit in the deep submicron era. Hence, advanced technology nodes require novel device structures and new materials to overcome the challenges faced when dealing with planar devices for nanocircuits. As technology scales down, the circuits are becoming more susceptible to the increase of the uncertainty degree related to the many sources of variability as the ones due to radiation effects. This work evaluates the impact of Gate Work-function Fluctuation (WFF) on the radiation robustness of XOR circuits designed using 7nm FinFET devices. The results explore temperature effect, transistor gate sizing and voltage scaling, showing that radiation-induced transients are quite sensitive to WFF. The increase in the SET pulse-width can reach from 10% to 200% in lower power designs.