EE 421L Digital Integrated Circuit Design Laboratory - Lab 4

Eric Monahan

monahan@unlv.nevada.edu

9/28/16

  

IV characteristics and layout of NMOS and PMOS devices in ON's C5 process

 

Pre-Lab

o    

o   Back-up all of your work from the lab and the course.  

o   Read through this lab before starting it.

o   Go through Tutorial 2

o   In the simulations in this lab the body of all NMOS devices (the substrate) should be at ground (gnd!) and the body of all PMOS devices (the n-well) should be at a vdd! of 5V.  

 

The prelab following Tutorial 2 required creating NMOS and PMOS layouts and simulating the IV curves for each device via parametric analysis. These files were then transferred to the Lab 4 file and used to perform the simulations. First the NMOS schematic, below left, and symbol, below right were designed with a DRC to verify design rules were followed. Note the proper dimension 6um/600nm, displayed on both views.

 

             

 

Next, the NMOS layout, below left, and extracted, below right, views were created with both DRC and LVS verifications to ensure proper design.

             

             

 

Simulations were performed as required by Tutorial 2, but these are similar to the simulations required in Experiment 1 below, thus these will be omitted from the PreLab summation and included below. Following the NMOS design, the same procedure was completed for the design of a PMOS. The PMOS schematic is displayed to the left below and the PMOS symbol is displayed to the right below. 

 

             

 

Next, the PMOS layout, below left, and extracted, below right, views were created with DRC and LVS verifications.

 

             

 
Following the instructions in Tutorial 2 resulted in the successful design of both NMOS and PMOS devices. The next step was to begin the experiments outlined in the Lab 4 instructions.

 

 

Experiment 1

 

Generate 4 schematics and simulations (see the examples in the Ch6_IC61 library, but note that for the PMOS body should be at vdd! instead of gnd!):

 

o   A schematic for simulating ID v. VDS of an NMOS device for VGS varying from 0 to 5 V in 1 V steps while VDS varies from 0 to 5 V in 1 mV steps. Use a 6u/600n width-to-length ratio.

 

The simulation was performed as outlined in Tutorial 2 with results matching the expected outcomes for the NMOS. All files from the Tutorial 2 library were copied into the Lab 4 library and used for designing the required schematics. The schematic is displayed below to the left and the parametric analysis sweeping VGS from 0V to 5V in 1V steps is displayed to the right. Note the NMOS used in the schematic is the same as the NMOS designed in the PreLab. As seen above in the NMOS schematic, the substrate is tied to ground as necessary.

 

             

 

 

o   A schematic for simulating ID v. VGS of an NMOS device for VDS = 100 mV where VGS varies from 0 to 2 V in 1 mV steps. Again use a 6u/600n width-to-length ratio. 

 

The first step in performing this simulation required changing the voltage for VDS on the schematic to 100mV.  Next, the component name used in the DC analysis was changed to V0 to match VGS. Last, the start, stop and step-size for VGS were edited to match the required values above. The resulting schematic is displayed to the left below and the simulation result is displayed to the right. The plot shows a current of zero until VGS is greater than the threshold voltage. At this point, a relatively linear increase in current is displayed matching expected results.

 

             

 

 

o   A schematic for simulating ID v. VSD (note VSD not VDS) of a PMOS device for VSG (not VGS) varying from 0 to 5 V in 1 V steps while VSD varies from 0 to 5 V in 1 mV steps. Use a 12u/600n width-to-length ratio. 

 

This simulation was similar to the first simulation performed for the NMOS and resulted in a similar I-V curve. The PMOS schematic is displayed below to the left and the simulation waveform is displayed to the right. Note the proper W/L as outlined in the above instructions and the PMOS substrate tied to Vdd as required for the device to function as expected.

 

           

 

 

 

o   A schematic for simulating ID v. VSG of a PMOS device for VSD = 100 mV where VSG varies from 0 to 2 V in 1 mV steps. Again, use a 12u/600n width-to-length ratio.  

 

Again, this simulation was similar to the simulation performed for the NMOS with the result of the PMOS exhibiting similar I-V characteristics to the NMOS. The schematic is displayed below to the left and the plot is displayed below to the right.

 

           

 

 

Experiment 2

 

Lay out a 6u/0.6u NMOS device and connect all 4 MOSFET terminals to probe pads (which can be considerably smaller than bond pads [see MOSIS design rules] and directly adjacent to the MOSFET (so the layout is relative small). 

o   Show your layout passes DRCs. 

o   Make a corresponding schematic so you can LVS your layout. 

 

The layout of a 6u/0.6u NMOS started with a simple redesign of the NMOS_IV cell created in the prelab. Specifically, two extra rows were added to the p-tap to create additional grounding contacts, as displayed in the image to the left below. The lengths of the NMOS remained unchanged to match the required specifications for this experiment. After instantiating the NMOS in the cell titled NMOS_IV_ProbePads, the four probe pads and the m2_m1 and m3_m2 cells were instantiated. The metal connecting cells were edited to result in 3 total vias in each connection to help lower resistance between layers. The close up view of the NMOS with these layers is displayed to the right below.

 

             

 

The left image below displays one of the probe pads used to connect to the NMOS terminals. The image to the right below displays the metal connections between the different metal layers in the layout. This is included to demonstrate the methods necessary to connect the metal layers.

 

             

 

After connecting all the metal layers and connecting to the probe pads, a DRC verification was successfully completed as displayed below.

 

 

 

The next step required creating a corresponding schematic to allow LVS verification. The schematic created in Tutorial 2 was copied into the lab and probe pads were added to complete the design. The schematic and resulting DRC verification are displayed below.

 

 

The final step in Experiment 2 was to LVS the NMOS schematic versus the extracted layout. The image below displays a successful LVS verification for the NMOS. 

 

 

 

Experiment 3

 

Lay out a 12u/0.6u PMOS device and connect all 4 MOSFET terminals to probe pads. 

o   Show your layout passes DRCs. 

o   Make a corresponding schematic so you can LVS your layout. 

 

The same basic procedure was followed to create a complementary PMOS layout with L/W = 12µm/0.6µm. The cell created for the PMOS layout was titled PMOS_IV_ProbePads. Several vias were added to the PMOS gate prior to instantiating to reduce resistance between the metal contact layers, as displayed below to the left. Note the proper size of 12µm/0.6µm displayed on the PMOS. Following the PMOS_IV layout is an image illustrating the addition of the necessary m2_m1 and m3_m2 connections.

 

           

 

After completing the layout, a DRC verification of the PMOS was performed with the successful results displayed below. 

 

 

 

The next step required designing the schematic to LVS with the extracted layout. The PMOS schematic connected to the probe pads with DRC verification is displayed below.

 

 

 

The final step in Experiment 3 was to LVS the PMOS schematic versus the extracted layout. The image below displays a successful LVS verification for the PMOS. 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion  

 

The experiments performed in Laboratory 4 resulted in the successful design of NMOS and PMOS schematics and layouts using ON's C5 process with valid DRC and LVS verifications for all designs. Furthermore, the I-V characteristics of both devices were simulated with results matching expected outcomes.

 

 

Lab 4 Design Directory

 

 

Return to Monahan Lab Report Directory

 

Return to EE 421L Fall 2016 Student Directory

 

Return to EE 421L Labs