Vertical injection logic

Vertical injection logic (VIL) is a novel form of integrated injection logic (I/SUP 2/L). A vertical p-n-p transistor is used in place of a lateral p-n-p transistor to obtain an improved performance at the same packing density as conventional I/SUP 2/L. The current gain of the p-n-p transistor can be increased, which leads to the excellent power-delay product. The intrinsic delay time is also improved by the action of the bottom injector as a hole sink. The fabrication process and electrical characteristics of VIL are described and contrasted with conventional I/SUP 2/L. A tentative hole sink model is also proposed. The experimental results showed the minimum delay time of 8.8 ns and the power-delay product of 0.07 pJ at low power level below 1 /spl mu/W for VIL compared to 25 ns and 0.18 pJ for standard I/SUP 2/L.