Transistors are key components of modern integrated circuits. To satisfy the requirements of increasingly faster switching speed, the drive currents of transistors need to be increasingly higher. At the same time, the gate lengths of transistors are constantly being scaled down. Scaling down the gate lengths leads to undesirable effects known as “short-channel effects,” with which the control of current flow by the gates is compromised. Among the short-channel effects are the drain-induced barrier lowering (DIBL) and the degradation of sub-threshold slope, both of which result in the degradation in the performance of transistors.
The use of multi-gate transistor architecture may help the relief of short-channel effects by improving electrostatic control of the gate on the channel. Fin field-effect transistors (FinFET) were thus developed. To further increase the control of the channels, and to reduce the short-channel effects, transistors having gate-all-around (GAA) structures were also developed, wherein the respective transistors are also referred to as gate all around transistors. In a gate all around transistor, a gate dielectric and a gate electrode fully encircle the channel region. This configuration delivers a good control of the channel, and the short-channel effects are reduced.