“Pinch to Detect”: A Method to Increase the Number of Detectable RTN Traps in Nano-scale MOSFETs

This work presents a new method, called “pinch to detect”, for the characterization of Random Telegraph Noise (RTN) in nanometer length Tri-Gate Nanowire MOSFETs, allowing for the maximum number of active RTN traps to be detected. We demonstrate that the channel pinch-off effect, which takes place in saturation region, can actually be exploited for the modulation of RTN amplitudes and kinetics, and therefore disable (or enable) the appearance of RTN signals which are present (or not) in linear region, where the channel is uniform. It is shown that by combining the measurements for three different channel configurations, i.e. uniform, pinched-off near the drain and pinched-off near the source, the total number of detectable RTN traps can be maximized. This conclusion is also supported by noise spectral analysis and TCAD simulations. Furthermore, it is demonstrated through how going to longer channels with no short-channel effects does not make this effect disappear, but just limit it to traps in the pinched-off region.