Electrical noise and RTS fluctuations in advanced CMOS devices

A brief overview of recent issues concerning the low frequency (LF) noise in modern CMOS devices is given. The approaches such as the carrier number and the Hooge mobility fluctuations used for the analysis of the noise sources are presented and illustrated through experimental results obtained on advanced CMOS generations. The use of the LF noise measurements as a characterization tool of large area MOS devices is also discussed. The main physical features of random telegraph signals (RTSs) observed in small area MOS transistors are reviewed. The impact of scaling on the LF noise and RTS fluctuations in CMOS silicon devices is also addressed. Experimental results obtained on 0.18 mum CMOS technologies are used to predicting the trends for the noise figure of foregoing CMOS technologies e.g. 0.1 mum and beyond. The formulation of the thermal noise underlying the LF fluctuations in MOSFETs is recalled for completeness. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.