A theory of the Hooge parameters of solid-state devices

Handel's theory of quantum 1/f noise is applied to the Hooge parameters of bipolar transistors and various types of FET's. Very low values for the Hooge parameters αHnand αHpfor electrons and holes are obtained. For several cases the experimental data seem to agree with the predicted theoretical limit whereas in other cases the mobility 1/f noise is masked by other noise sources. In good GaAs devices the predicted quantum limit for αHnis reached within a factor 5-10. The theory is also applied to the Hg1-xCdxTe materials and devices. Because of the very low effective masses involved, the theory predicts values as high as 2 × 10^-4-2 × 10^-5, depending onx. What remains presently unexplained are the high values of αHfor semiconductor resistors and long p-n diodes.     

Material and device characterization using a correlation spectrum analyzer

The paper presents the possibilities offered by the Correlation Spectrum Analyzer in the characterisation of semiconductor materials and microelectronic devices. The instrument performs noise analysis in a frequency range from a few mHz to 1 MHz with an extraordinary sensitivity of 1fA/√Hz in current noise measurements and of 20 pV/√Hz in voltage noise measurements. Noise spectra taken in these conditions can be used as a non-destructive-sensitive probe to investigate physical properties of semiconductor materials as well as quantify the noise produced by new devices. As an example of these applications, the text reports on the extraction of noise parameters from a MOSFET operated in strong sub-threshold regime to be inserted in noise models for circuit simulation and on the determination of carrier mobility in single-crystal cadmium telluride (CdTe) samples.     

Ion-implanted planar-mesa IMPATT diodes for millimeter wavelengths

A process has been developed that combines ion-implantation doping with planar and mesa-etching techniques for the fabrication of fully passivated millimeter-wave IMPATT diodes. The device geometry consists of an IMPATT diode surrounded by a two-layer annular region of passivation: one layer of high-resistivity semiconductor and the other of thick insulator material. Devices constructed with this new geometry have sufficient mechanical strength to allow direct mounting into microwave circuits without the use of an insulator standoff and metal ribbon package arrangement. A simple model of the diode-circuit interaction is used to estimate the degradation in microwave performance as a function of the passivation parasitics. These results are compared to a diode with no parasitic losses. Based on the I²-PLASA process, a fully passivated silicon IMPATT diode was fabricated for V-band (50-75-GHz) operation. Degradation factors of approximately 50 percent are predicted for the present devices. A continuous-wave output power of 100 mW was obtained at 62 GHz from an I²-PLASA IMPATT diode with an implanted p⁺-n-n⁺doping profile. Mechanical tuning characteristics of these devices were found to be more broad-band than standard packaged diodes. The measured AM and FM noise spectra close to the carrier were representative of standard single-drift silicon millimeter-wave IMPATT diodes.     

A nonfundamental theory of low-frequency noise in semiconductordevices

A general low-frequency noise theory based on the fluctuation in the number of carriers is presented. In this theory, the low-frequency noise is attributed to the traps within the bandgap of a semiconductor, which are the sources of the generation-recombination noise. The cumulative effect of the generation-recombination noise from each trap center generates a 1/f type noise. It is shown that in fact, 1/f noise may have any frequency dependence between 1/f⁰-1/f². If not masked by thermal noise, the low-frequency noise generated from these traps becomes 1/f² at very high frequencies. Also, if the lifetime of the carriers in the semiconductor under nonequilibrium condition is finite, at very low frequencies, the noise spectral density reaches a plateau. While this theory can be applied to any semiconductor device, only heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) were considered in detail. Based on this theory, a model for low-frequency noise in the base of HBTs is derived. Frequency and current dependence of low-frequency noise are modeled. Results of the base noise measurements in AlGaAs/GaAs HBTs were found to agree with the noise theory presented here. This significant theory, for the first time, proves the possibility of the number fluctuation model as a general 1/f noise cause without a need for specific and nonrealistic carrier lifetime probability functions     

Low multiplication noise thin Al0.6Ga0.4Asavalanche photodiodes

Avalanche multiplication and excess noise were measured on a series of Al_0.6Ga_0.4As p⁺in⁺ and n⁺ip⁺ diodes, with avalanche region thickness, w ranging from 0.026 μm to 0.85 μm. The results show that the ionization coefficient for electrons is slightly higher than for holes in thick, bulk material. At fixed multiplication values the excess noise factor was found to decrease with decreasing w, irrespective of injected carrier type. Owing to the wide Al_0.6Ga_0.4As bandgap extremely thin devices can sustain very high electric fields, giving rise to very low excess noise factors, of around F~3.3 at a multiplication factor of M~15.5 in the structure with w=0.026 μm. This is the lowest reported excess noise at this value of multiplication for devices grown on GaAs substrates. Recursion equation modeling, using both a hard threshold dead space model and one which incorporates the detailed history of the ionizing carriers, is used to model the nonlocal nature of impact ionization giving rise to the reduction in excess noise with decreasing w. Although the hard threshold dead space model could reproduce qualitatively the experimental results, better agreement was obtained from the history-dependent model     

Heterojunction blocking contacts in MOCVD grown Hg1-xCdxTe long wavelength infrared photoconductors

The theoretical and experimental performance of Hg_1-xCd _xTe long wavelength infrared (LWIR) photoconductors fabricated on two-layer heterostructures grown by in situ MOCVD has been studied. It is shown that heterojunction blocking contact (HBC) photoconductors, consisting of wider bandgap Hg_1-xCd_x Te on an LWIR absorbing layer, give improved responsivity, particularly at higher applied bias, when compared with two-layer photoconductors incorporating n⁺/n contacts. An extension to existing device models is presented, which takes into account the recombination rate at the heterointerface and separates it from that occurring at both the contact-metal/semiconductor and passivant/semiconductor interfaces. The model requires a numerical solution to the continuity equation, and allows the device responsivity to be calculated as a function of applied electric field. Model predictions indicate that a change in bandgap across the heterointerface corresponding to a compositional change of Δx⩾0.04 essentially eliminates the onset of responsivity saturation due to minority carrier sweepout at high applied bias. Experimental results are presented for frontside-illuminated n-type Hg_1-xCd_xTe photoconductive detectors with either n⁺/n contacts or heterojunction blocking contacts. The devices are fabricated on a two-layer in situ grown MOCVD Hg_1-xCd_xTe wafer with a capping layer of x=0.31 and an LWIR absorbing layer of x=0.22. The experimental data clearly demonstrates the difficulty of forming n ⁺/n blocking contacts on LWIR material, and indicates that heterojunctions are the only viable technology for forming effective blocking contacts to narrow bandgap semiconductors     

A study of noise in surface and buried channel SiGe MOSFETs with gate oxide grown by low temperature plasma anodization

A study is made of noise in p- and n-channel transistors incorporating SiGe surface and buried channels, over the frequency range f=1 Hz–100 kHz. The gate oxide is grown by low temperature plasma oxidation. Surface n-channel devices are found to exhibit two noise components namely 1/f and generation–recombination (GR) noise. It is shown that the 1/f noise component is due to fluctuations of charge in slow oxide traps whilst bulk centers located in a thin layer of the semiconductor close to the channel, give rise to the GR noise component. The analysis of the noise data gives values for the density D_ot of the oxide traps in the SiGe and Si nMOSFETs of the order 1.8×10¹² and 2.5×10¹⁰ cm⁻² (eV)⁻¹, respectively. The density D_GR of the bulk GR centres is equal to 3×10¹⁰ cm⁻² in both the SiGe and Si devices. The electron and hole capture cross-sections for these centres as well as their energy level and their depth below the oxide/semiconductor interface are also the same in the devices of both types. This suggests that those GR centers are of the same nature in all devices studied. p-Channel devices show different behaviour with only a 1/f noise component apparent in the data over the same frequency range. Buried SiGe channel and Si control devices exhibit quite low and similar slow state densities of the order low to mid 10¹⁰ cm⁻² (eV)⁻¹ whereas surface p-channel devices show even higher slow state densities than n-channel counterparts. The Hooge noise characterized by the Hooge coefficient _H=2×10⁻⁵ is also detected in some buried p-channel SiGe devices.     

A modified GaAs IMPATT structure for high-efficiency operation

A p⁺-n⁽⁺⁾-n-n⁺just punchthrough IMPATT structure is proposed and analyzed. This high-low junction structure differs from the Read structure in that the carrier concentration in the n-layer is high enough that the breakdown and punchthrough occur at the same time; yet it differs with the regular p⁺-n junction structure in that an additional n⁽⁺⁾-layer with prescribed carrier concentration and layer thickness is present. Tradeoffs between the efficiency and noise of this high-low junction IMPATT are presented and compared to the case of a conventional p-n junction IMPATT. It is shown that either the efficiency or noise performance can be improved, although one at the expense of the other. As an example, the maximum efficiency of a high-low junction IMPATT is improved from about 23 to 30 percent at the expense of a degradation in noise performance of 7 dB. On the other hand, the noise of an X-band diode can be improved by 6 dB with a degradation in efficiency from 23 to 12 percent. This structure should be useful for high-efficiency high-power applications where the noise specifications can be relaxed, or as local oscillators where the noise performance is important.     

Noise temperature in silicon in the hot electron region

The noise temperature as a function of the applied field has been measured on an epitaxial silicon layer at the frequencies 2 GHz and 4 GHz. It has been found that the experimental results are in good agreement with the theory given by Moll. It is shown that for noise calculations in silicon field-effect transistors with pronounced carrier velocity saturation the noise temperature Tnversus field E may be approximated byT_{n}/T_{0}= 1 + γ(E/E_{c})^{2}with T0= lattice temperature, Ec= saturation field, γ = const.     

Accelerated temperature testing of transistors does not cause excess flicker noise

Electrical noise measurement analysis has been applied in reliability screening of semiconductor devices. Normally it is expected that during accelerated testing reactions increase in composition of device materials causes early failures through the process of defect production. An increase in defects is further expected to result in an increase in the noise of semiconductor devices. Accelerated temperature testing of sample of indegenous NPN transistors was done and noise was measured after certain durations of test time. No appreciable change was observed in the noise level (mainly flicker or 1/noise) even though the devices reached the stage of complete failure. This indicates that defects produced by accelerated temperature testing are not noise generators. X-ray radiography and SEM analysis study has been done for completely failed devices.     

Noise characteristics of GaAs and Si IMPATT diodes for 50-GHz range operation

Direct comparison of noise behaviors between GaAs Schottky-barrier junction and Si diffused p⁺-n junction diodes operating in the 50-GHz range is reported by using the same circuitry. In the oscillator operation, the GaAs diode exhibits excess "1/f^m" noise near carrier, whereas the Si diode shows flat spectrum. Far from the carrier, and AM-DSB-NSR of -133 dB in a 100-Hz bandwidth and an FM noise measure of 27.1 dB are observed for GaAs diodes. Corresponding values obtained for Si diodes are -125 and 36.2 dB, respectively. As a reflection amplifier, minimum noise figures of 27.5 and 38 dB are achieved for the GaAs and Si devices, respectively. These results indicate that the GaAs IMPATT is superior in noise behavior to the Si diode also in the 50-GHz frequency range by about 10 dB. It is emphasized that the noise induced in the bias circuit of the IMPATT oscillator is a replica of the sideband noise of the output power and can be used as an indicator to obtain a low-noise tuning condition of the oscillator.     

Phase noise reduction by self-phase locking in semiconductor lasersusing phase conjugate feedback

A theoretical analysis of the behavior of the frequency/phase noise of semiconductor lasers with external phase conjugate feedback is presented. It is shown that the frequency noise is drastically reduced even for lasers with butt-coupled phase conjugate mirrors. In this laser system, the phase noise takes a finite-low value corresponding to a state of first-order self-phase locking of the laser. As a result, the spectral shape of the laser signal does not remain Lorentzian but collapses around the carrier to a delta function with a close to carrier noise level of less than -137 dBc/Hz. The total phase variance of this laser signal, in a 20 GHz noise bandwidth, is less than 0.002 rad²      

An investigation of low-frequency noise in complementary SiGe HBTs

We present a comprehensive investigation of low-frequency noise behavior in complementary (n-p-n + p-n-p) SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs). The low-frequency noise of p-n-p devices is higher than that of n-p-n devices. Noise data from different geometry devices show that n-p-n transistors have an increased size dependence when compared with p-n-p transistors. The 1/f noise of p-n-p SiGe HBTs was found to have an exponential dependence on the (intentionally introduced) interfacial oxide (IFO) thickness at the polysilicon-to-monosilicon interface. Temperature measurements as well as ionizing radiation were used to probe the physics of 1/f noise in n-p-n and p-n-p SiGe HBTs. A weak temperature dependence (nearly a 1/T dependence) of 1/f noise is found in both n-p-n and p-n-p devices with cooling. In most cases, the magnitude of 1/f noise is proportional to I/sub B//sup 2/. The only exception in our study is for noise in the post-radiation n-p-n transistor biased at a low base current, which exhibits a near-linear dependence on I/sub B/. In addition, in proton radiation experiments, the 1/f noise of p-n-p devices was found to have higher radiation tolerance than that of n-p-n devices. A two-step tunneling model and a carrier random-walk model are both used to explain the observed behavior. The first model suggests that 1/f noise may be caused by a trapping-detrapping process occurring at traps located inside IFO, while the second one indicates that noise may be originating from the emitting-recapturing process occurring in states located at the monosilicon-IFO interface.     

Transport properties of AlGaN/GaN metal–oxide–semiconductor heterostructure field-effect transistors with Al2O3 of different thickness

The Al₂O₃ as a gate oxide and passivation was used to study the transport properties of AlGaN/GaN metal–oxide–semiconductor heterostructure field-effect transistors (MOSHFETs). Performance of the devices with Al₂O₃ of different thickness between 4 and 14 nm prepared by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) and with 4 nm thick Al₂O₃ prepared by Al sputtering and oxidation was investigated. All MOS-devices yielded higher transconductance than their HFET counterparts, i.e. the transconductance/capacitance expected proportionality assuming the same carrier velocity was not fulfilled. A different electric field near/below the gate contact due to a reduction of traps is responsible for the carrier velocity enhancement in the channel of the MOSHFET. The trap reduction depends on the oxide used, as follows from the capacitance vs frequency dispersion for devices investigated. It is qualitatively in a good agreement with the different velocity enhancement evaluated, and devices with thinner oxide show higher traps reduction as well as higher transconductance enhancement. It is also shown that obtained conclusions can be applied well on performance of SiO₂/AlGaN/GaN MOSHFETs.     

The p-n heterojunction quantum well APD: A new high-gain low-noise high speed photodetector suitable for lightwave communications and digital applications

A new Ga0.47In0.53As/Al0.48In0.52As multiquantum well avalanche photodiode, the APD, is presented that provides comparable signal-to-noise performance compared to either the doped quantum well APD or the p-n junction quantum well APD, but without carrier trapping effects even at very low overall applied electric fields. The device is made of repeated unit cells consisting of a p-n junction formed between two dissimilar materials followed by a nearly intrinsic wide-bandgap layer. As in the doped quantum well device, the asymmetric unit cell selectively heats the electron distribution much more than the hole distribution within the narrow-gap Ga0.47In0.53As layer leading to a greatly enhanced electron-to-hole ionization rates ratio. The most significant improvement over the doped and p-n junction quantum well devices is the lack of carrier trapping at the heterojunction without further engineering of the interface (compositional grading). Carrier trapping is avoided, thereby providing very high-speed performance even for low-voltage devices, by doping the narrow-gap layer. The resulting built-in field within the GaInAs layer is sufficiently large of itself that both electrons and holes are heated to energies large enough to overcome the potential barrier at the end of the quantum well. In this way, devices operating at 5 V bias can be built that will provide a gain of about 4 at large bandwidths, ~18 GHz.     

All-GaAs/AlGaAs readout circuit for quantum-well infrared detectorfocal plane array

We report the fabrication and testing of an all-GaAs/AlGaAs hybrid readout circuit operating at 77 K designated for use with an GaAs/AlGaAs background-limited quantum-well infrared photodetector focal plane array (QWIP FPA). The circuit is based on a direct injection scheme, using specially designed cryogenic GaAs/AlGaAs MODFET's and a novel n⁺ -GaAs/AlGaAs/n⁺-GaAs semiconductor capacitor, which is able to store more than 15 000 electrons/μm² in a voltage range of ±0.7 V. The semiconductor capacitor shows little voltage dependence, small frequency dispersion, and no hysteresis. We have eliminated the problem of low-temperature degradation of the MODFET I-V characteristics and achieved very low gate leakage current of about 100 fA in the subthreshold regime. The MODFET electrical properties including input-referred noise voltage and subthreshold transconductance were thoroughly tested. Input-referred noise voltage as low as 0.5 μV/√Hz at 10 Hz was measured for a 2×30 μm² gate MODFET. We discuss further possibilities for monolithic integration of the developed devices     

Drain current thermal noise modeling for deep submicron n- and p-channel MOSFETs

The drain current thermal noise has been measured and modeled for the short-channel devices fabricated with a standard 0.18 μm CMOS technology. We have derived a physics-based drain current thermal noise model for short-channel MOSFETs, which takes into account the velocity saturation effect and the carrier heating effect in gradual channel region. As a result, it is found that the well-known Q_inv/L²––formula, previously derived for long-channel, remains valid for even short-channel. The model excellently explained the carefully measured drain thermal noise for the entire V_GS and V_DS bias regions, not only in the n-channel, but also in the p-channel MOSFETs. Large excess noise, which was reported earlier in some other groups, was not observed in both the n-channel and the p-channel devices.     

Carrier accumulation and space-charge-limited current flow in field-effect transistors

This paper reports an investigation of devices fabricated by lateral diffusion techniques which have non-uniform doping profiles along the channel. The application of a two-dimensional numerical method to a device model representing these devices shows carrier accumulation in the conductive channel. The increase of carrier concentration with the increasing drain-to-source voltages is caused by the interaction of the source and the drain N⁺-regions. This indicates the possibility of the space-charge-limited current which is a different conduction mechanism from that of the conventional devices. From the study of one-dimensional N⁺-N-N⁺ structures, the length-to-L_DE (extrinsic Debye length) ratio of the channel and the crossover voltage have been recognized as important parameters in realizing the space-charge-limited current. The drain characteristics of a device model with a small crossover voltage and a small length-to-L_DE ratio are obtained by a simple analysis. Triode-like characteristics are found for this model as expected.     

Thermal feedback in power semiconductor devices

Thermal feedback (TF) is an important aspect for the thermal management of semiconductor devices and high-power density integrated circuits. Different features of positive and negative TF in transistors are reviewed and summarized for the macroscopic domain. The thermal feedback mechanism is applied to the microscopic domain of noise fluctuations in semiconductor devices. It is argued that TF may be responsible for a major part of 1/fflicker or excess noise. Some experimental evidence is presented which supports this thermal feedback 1/f-noise theory for bipolar and MOS field effect transistors. Device and circuit design rules for the minimization of transmitter noise are given.     

Organic-on-organic semiconductor heterojunctions: building blockfor the next generation of optoelectronic devices

A novel class of optoelectronic devices utilizing thin films of stable crystalline organic semiconductors layered onto inorganic semiconductor substrates is described. The electrical properties of these devices are determined by the energy barrier at the heterojunction contact between the organic and inorganic materials, and in many ways are similar to those of ideal diffused-junction inorganic semiconductor devices. The organic materials can be layered onto semiconductor substrates without inducing large strains in either material, hence allowing a wide range of material combinations with a similarly broad range of optoelectronic functions to be realized. As examples, high-bandwidth photodetectors and field-effect transistors made using organic/inorganic semiconductor heterojunctions are discussed. Modification of the optical and electronic properties of the organic films by irradiation with energetic electron and ion beams is considered