ABSTRACT
The success of the semiconductor industry relies on the continuous improvement of integrated circuit performance. This improvement is achieved by reducing the dimensions of the key component of these circuits: the MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor). Indeed, the reduction of device dimensions allows the integration of a higher number of transistors on a chip, enabling higher speed and reduced costs. The scaling of MOSFETs follows the famous Moore’s law, which predicts the exponential increase in the number of transistors integrated on a chip [1]. This law is shown in figure 1.1.1, where the number of devices integrated in the different generations of Intel’s microprocessors is presented as a function of the production year of these circuits [2]. For the sake of comparison, the 4004 processor, manufactured in 1971, integrated 2250 transistors from the 10 μm technology node (channel length of the devices) and was running at 108 kHz. The latest Intel Pentium®4 processor, introduced in 2002, integrates about 53 million transistors from the 0.13 μm technology, and demonstrates a clock frequency up to 2.8 GHz (at the time of writing). Illustration of Moore’s law: number of transistors integrated in the different generations of Intel’s microprocessors vs. the production year of these circuits [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1_1_2">2</xref>]. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780429092886/30cece93-10cf-4fa6-819c-64288338b87a/content/fig1_1_1.tif"/>
