CMOS Scaling for the 5 nm Node and Beyond: Device, Process and Technology.

After more than five decades, Moore's Law for transistors is approaching the end of the international technology roadmap of semiconductors (ITRS). The fate of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) architecture has become increasingly unknown. In this era, 3D transistors in the form of gate-all-around (GAA) transistors are being considered as an excellent solution to scaling down beyond the 5 nm technology node, which solves the difficulties of carrier transport in the channel region which are mainly rooted in short channel effects (SCEs). In parallel to Moore, during the last two decades, transistors with a fully depleted SOI (FDSOI) design have also been processed for low-power electronics. Among all the possible designs, there are also tunneling field-effect transistors (TFETs), which offer very low power consumption and decent electrical characteristics. This review article presents new transistor designs, along with the integration of electronics and photonics, simulation methods, and continuation of CMOS process technology to the 5 nm technology node and beyond. The content highlights the innovative methods, challenges, and difficulties in device processing and design, as well as how to apply suitable metrology techniques as a tool to find out the imperfections and lattice distortions, strain status, and composition in the device structures.

Review of Ge(GeSn) and InGaAs Avalanche Diodes Operating in the SWIR Spectral Region.

Among photodetectors, avalanche photodiodes (APDs) have an important place due to their excellent sensitivity to light. APDs transform photons into electrons and then multiply the electrons, leading to an amplified photocurrent. APDs are promising for faint light detection owing to this outstanding advantage, which will boost LiDAR applications. Although Si APDs have already been commercialized, their spectral region is very limited in many applications. Therefore, it is urgently demanded that the spectral region APDs be extended to the short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) region, which means better atmospheric transmission, a lower solar radiation background, a higher laser eye safety threshold, etc. Up until now, both Ge (GeSn) and InGaAs were employed as the SWIR absorbers. The aim of this review article is to provide a full understanding of Ge(GeSn) and InGaAs for PDs, with a focus on APD operation in the SWIR spectral region, which can be integrated onto the Si platform and is potentially compatible with CMOS technology.