Low frequency noise and fin width study of silicon passivated germanium pFinFETs

The characterization of low-frequency (LF) noise is carried out in p-type Si passivated Ge FinFETs, comparing the performance of narrow (Wfin = 20 nm) and planar-like (Wfin = 100 nm) devices. The low-frequency noise is shown to be dominated by flicker noise, i.e., (1/fγ) where γ∼1, in the evaluated frequency range for both fin widths, which is governed by number fluctuations. Furthermore, narrow devices exhibit Lorentzian components (generation-recombination noise), which are related to traps in the gate dielectric, indicating that the sidewalls are strongly affected in the STI-first process.