Investigation of Low-Frequency Noise in Silicon Nanowire MOSFETs in the Subthreshold Region

The low-frequency noise (LFN) in the subthreshold region of both n- and p-type gate-all-around silicon nanowire transistors (SNWTs) is investigated. The measured drain-current noise spectral density shows that the LFN in this regime can be well described by the mobility-fluctuation model due to the volume-inversion conduction behavior, and the Hooge parameter is extracted. The LFN in the SNWTs with channels oriented in < 010 > and < 110 > directions is compared. It shows that the observed mobility enhancement in the < 010 > direction for p-type transistors leads to a corresponding increase of the LFN level in the < 010 > direction compared with that in the < 110 > direction.