Emerging Nanoelectronics: Life with and after CMOS

Abstract

At present, nanoscale effects in CMOS and their design implications, as well as emerging nanoelectronic devices and circuit architectures, are not adequately covered through university (undergraduate and graduate) curricula. However, with CMOS dimensions scaling steadily below 100 nm, nanometer scale effects (including quantum effects) are becoming so significant that even the random placement of dopant atoms in the channel region of a MOSFET can cause undesirable device characteristics. For emerging nanotechnologies, these effects are expected to increase even further. Hence, there is an immediate need in academic world to build a strong foundation geared towards addressing nanoscale technology issues to prepare today’s students for the coming generations of integrated circuit design. Unfortunately, there are no text books that comprehensively cover this subject. The aim of this book is to bring together some of the most significant works reported on nanoscale CMOS and emerging nanoelectronics, to provide the reader with a comprehensive overview of what the challenges are for nanoscale CMOS and what technology options exist beyond CMOS. In that regard, this book is intended to provide an excellent “one-stop” information package on nano-CMOS and emerging nanotechnologies. It can not only serve as the main information source for a graduate course on nanoelectronics, but can also be used as an excellent reference for advanced graduate level classes in device physics or VLSI circuit design. We believe that its content would be of high interest not only for students but also for engineers, scientists and researchers who are naturally migrating towards the ‘nano’ world.