Low-Frequency Noise in Downscaled Silicon Transistors — Trends and Unsolved Issues

The low-frequency noise (LFN) in downscaled silicon transistors has become prominently large, and it occurs as a limiting factor for diverse applications. Considerable interest is paid to the “slow” (as compared to the operating frequency of the devices) noise. Therefore, we address the trends for LFN from an extensive analysis of data from many publications over a very long period. The impact of LFN on high-frequency device performance, the penalties associated with using composite materials, and unsolved issues are also discussed.