Excess Noise in Metal-Dielectric-Semiconductor Structures

摘要

Excess noise in metal-dielectric-semiconductor (MDS) capacitors is investigated in the cases when the device contains either planar or relief dielectric used as an insulation of the elements in modern microcircuits. The nature of the noise initiated in the structures with high and negligible leakage currents as well as in the structures with thin (the layer thickness is about 10-100 nm) and ultrathin (2-5 nm) dielectric is studied. The influence of the material of the material of the gate on the excess noise is revealed. The excess noise in the considered structures can be caused by physical processes on the dielectric-semiconductor and metal-dielectric phase interfaces, the mechanisms of the dielectric current flow, and the generation-recombination (GR) processes in the space-charge region (SCR) of the semiconductor. The influence of the γ-radiation treatment of the MDS structures on the excess noise level is investigated in different operation modes. The obtained results show that the excess noise is a sensitive diagnostic tool for the quality of the MDS structure.