A simple and unambiguous definition of threshold voltage and its implications in deep-submicron MOS device modeling

A new definition of MOSFET threshold voltage is proposed, namely, the "critical-current at linear-threshold" method, which has a unique solution and is very simple to measure. This definition gives consistent values of threshold voltage for different regions of operation at long channel, and contains the information on short-channel effects at short channel, which is very useful for deep-submicron MOS device characterization and modeling. The proposed method effectively removes ambiguity of de facto industry standard of the constant-current method for MOS threshold voltage.