Low-frequency drain current noise behavior of InP based MODFET's in the linear and saturation regime

This paper describes a detailed experimental study of the low-frequency (LF) drain current noise behavior of InP based MODFET's in a broad operation regime, spanning both linear and saturation operation. The noise power spectral density S/sub lD/ of the predominantly 1/f noise is studied as a function of the gate and drain bias. The experimental noise behavior is compared with available analytical models. It is shown that there is a reasonable agreement between the data and the theoretical models in linear operation. However, no accurate theory exists for the saturation regime. Therefore, an empirical analytical description is proposed, which provides a good approximation for the measurement data base. Furthermore, it can be used as a starting point for phase noise simulations in high-frequency nonlinear circuits.