A Physical Understanding of RF Noise in Bulk nMOSFETs With Channel Lengths in the Nanometer Regime

Experimental and simulation results of high-frequency channel noise in MOSFETs with 40-, 80-, and 110- nm gate lengths are presented. The measured dc I-V characteristics can be matched using the drift-diffusion (DD) and hydrodynamic (HD) transport models, both incorporating velocity saturation. The DD model grossly underestimates the measured noise, demonstrating the inadequacy of channel-length modulation and impact ionization to explain the excess noise. The HD model generates higher noise but not enough, showing that introduction of carrier heating is still insufficient to explain the experimental results. The underprediction of noise using the HD model can be mitigated by a suitable choice of the energy relaxation time and saturation velocity; however, simultaneous matching of both noise and dc I-V does not produce satisfactory results. Thus, TCAD simulators are unable to simulate this excess-noise mechanism at this time. Experimental data support that, at 40 nm gate lengths, noise can be described by a shot noise like expression.