Compact modelling of noise for RF CMOS circuit design

Abstract

The thermal noise of short-channel NMOS transistors in a commercially available 0.13 -μm CMOS technology is studied. The experimental results are modelled with a non-quasi-static RF model, based on the principle of channel segmentation. The model is capable of predicting both drain and gate current noise accurately, without fitting any parameters to the measured noise data. An essential ingredient of the model is the gate resistance, which is shown to dominate the gate current noise. In the optimised device layouts, this gate resistance is mainly determined by the silicide-to-polysilicon contact resistance.