Investigation of thermal crosstalk between SOI FETs by the subthreshold sensing technique

Experimental-modeling investigation of the transient thermal crosstalk between the field-effect transistors implemented on a silicon-on-insulator substrate is reported. The measurements were performed using a high-speed electrical pulse-probe sampling technique, which allowed detection of thermally modulated subthreshold currents. The technique achieved a temperature resolution of ∼ 50 mK, a time resolution of 5 ns, and a temperature sensitivity of ∼ 0.6 μA/K. The finite-element method was used to solve the heat diffusion equation and to obtain the temperature profiles for the given device structures. The combined high-resolution experimental-simulation approach allowed the study of the thermal crosstalk between two adjacent devices and probe the local temperature at different locations of the structure. The effects of the interface quality, layer thickness, material selection, and interdevice spacing on the heat diffusion and device performance were investigated in detail. © 2008 IEEE.