Prediction of Alpha Particle Effect on 5-nm Vertical Field-Effect Transistors

The radiation effect on a nanoplate vertical field-effect transistor (VFET) was analyzed in a 5-nm technology node by simulating alpha particle-based 3-D TCAD, and it was compared to the effect on a FinFET on 5-nm technology node. Due to structural differences between FinFET and VFET, a change in the drain current over time is different after the injection of particles. In addition, there are two sections where the radiation effect decreases and increases depending on the particle energy. As the particle energy increases, the region where the peak value of the electron-hole pair (EHP) is generated is gradually moving away from the drain region and the amount of EHP generation in the p-n junction region decreases. In addition, as the temperature increases, the radiation effect decreases due to the reduced mobility and increased recombination rate. VFETs are more vulnerable to radiation because they have a larger drain area than FinFETs, which can reduce the radiation effect in half by using the drain top structures in VFETs.