Random telegraph signal noise in gate-all-around silicon nanowire transistors featuring Coulomb-blockade characteristics

Random telegraph signal (RTS) noise is experimentally investigated in silicon nanowire transistors (SNWTs) fabricated with complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor compatible top-down approach. The observed RTS is found to have Coulomb-blockade characteristics rather than those described by conventional Shockley-Read-Hall theory. The capture and emission time constants of oxide traps strongly depend on the gate bias due to strong quantum confinement and enhanced electrical field in nanowire structures. Amplitude of single RTS in SNWTs is found within 10%, while large amplitude of multilevel RTS up to 34% at room temperature is observed due to the ultranarrow channel and the behavior of independent multitraps in SNWTs. Widely spread time constants of oxide traps and slow RTS of very long-time constants (several hundred seconds) are also observed in SNWTs.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000263804400087&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Physics, AppliedSCI(E)EI13ARTICLE8null9