Investigation of Random Telegraph Noise Characteristics with Intentional Hot Carrier Aging

Abstract

The reduction of random telegraph noise (RTN) at the circuit level using common noise canceling methods, such as correlated double sampling (CDS), has proven difficult. Therefore, reduction of RTN at the device level is increasingly being investigated. In this paper, RTN characteristics are analyzed source follower transistor. Impacts of RTN levels are investigated before and after intentional hot carrier agings (HCA). Unlike channel hot carrier (CHC) stress, which showed small changes in RTN characteristics or decreased RTN levels, drain avalanche hot carrier (DAHC) stress resulted in increasing power spectral density levels below 10 Hz. This implies low-frequency RTN is closely related to interface charge density (Nit). The Nit generated by DAHC would results in the increase of influence of RTN on active traps in channel near drain junction. On the other hands, in case of CHC, it seems that the RTN characteristic is weakened by changing the dominant current path distributed around the active trap by charged trap.