Agilent 1/f Noise Measurement System

Rev.2 (2010.5.11)

Why Make 1/f Noise Measurement?

1/f noise, or flicker noise, is the dominant noise for deep sub-micron CMOS, BJT, FET and HBT devices. It can significantly impact the performance of analog/RF circuits. As an example, 1/f noise becomes phase noise in an oscillator and causes stable issues. A noisy LO signals can severely degrade a receivers dynamic range and selectivity. Accurate measurement and modeling of 1/f noise are critical to analog/RF circuit designs. However, this measurement is particular difficult, since the measurement system itself can easily introduce other noise sources. Therefore, an integrated measurement system with high stability and low system noise is absolutely critical for accurate 1/f noise measurement.

Introducing the Agilent 1/f Noise Measurement System

As the worldwide leader in test & measurement, Agilent understands the importance of accurate measurements, and the challenges of measurement speed and flexibility. This is why Agilents 1/f Noise Measurement System, which was initially developed 10+ years ago, has the industry leading low noise floor, allowing the most accurate measurement possible today. Furthermore, the system can be configured differently to fit the different needs for speed and budget. The Agilent 1/f Noise Measurement System architecture is as follows: Core Computing Unit Measurement Control Unit DC Source/Monitor

Signal Analyzer

Measurement Resistor Unit

The core of the Agilent 1/f Noise Measurement consists of the Core Computing Unit, Measurement Control Unit and Measurement Resistor Unit. The Core Computing Unit along with the Measurement Control Unit controls the entire system, while the Measurement Resistor Unit is the reason why the system can make ultra accurate low noise measurements. The proprietary Pre-Amplifier inside the Resistor Unit has a ultra low noise floor of -177dBV2/Hz(@100KHz), enabling the system to measure very low noise current at around 1E-25A2/Hz.

Rev.2 (2010.5.11)

In addition, the 1/f Noise System supports the latest instrument from Agilent Technologies. The different types of Signal Analyzers and DC Source/Monitors provide the options of different performance, speed and costs. Today, Agilent offers 3 different systems. All 3 provide the same industry-leading low noise floor, but the different configurations enable different performance, speed and costs.
Basic System 35670A FFT Signal Analyzer Frequency Range Measurement Accuracy Measurement Throughput RTS Noise Measurement Dynamic Signal Analyzer 1Hz-100kHz *** * 10Hz-30MHz *** ** E444xA PSA Performance System High Performance System E5052B Signal Source Analyzer 1Hz-40MHz **** ***

Why Choose Agilent 1/f Noise Measurement System?

Industrys best system noise This system uses Agilents proprietary Pre-Amplifier, jointly developed with a leading LNA design house from Japan. The noise floor is industrys best -177dBV2/Hz(@100KHz), which allows the system to measure very low noise current at around 1E-25A2/Hz. Industrys best measurement accuracy The High Performance System with E5052B Signal Source Analyzer enables the most accurate measurement possible today. This is because E5052B has a dedicated multi-band hardware and real time FFT. This allows FFT to be completed real-time while A/D converter continues to capture the measurement data, allowing simultaneous multiband FFT across all bands
1E-25A2/Hz -177dBV2/Hz

Rev.2 (2010.5.11)

Industrys best measurement throughput By supporting post-process averaging, the noise measurement speed is 3 times faster than conventional built-in averaging of instrument. In addition, in the High Performance System times with faster. E5052B, This the a noise total measurement speed is yet another 3.5 means improvement of 10x over conventional systems. Industrys widest measurement bandwidth The High Performance System can measure from 1Hz to 40MHz. The start and stop frequency depend on the signal analyzer.
Measure from 1Hz to 40MHz

Fully automatic measurements The system is controlled by the Core Computing Unit, which enables fully automatic measurements. The system also automates: * Automatically calculate the Source/Load resistance * Automatically calculate the roll-off frequency. capacitance. Roll off occurs due to Source/Load resistance and parasitic

Rev.2 (2010.5.11)

RTS noise measurement capability Random Telegraph Signal (RTS) noise is of critical importance to SRAM and CMOS System image with sensors. 35670A System The and Basic High

Performance

with

E5052B

allow RTS noise measurement with a sampling number up to 20K.

Linkage to Wafer Mapping Tools (Option) The system can control semi-auto probe station, from Cascade or SUSS, and use die and subdie (subsite). It is also possible to mix CMOS and BJT for subdie measurements. The variation data can be exported to the optional Wafer Mapping Tools. Linkage to IC-CAP Extraction software (Option) It is very important to extract flicker noise model parameters for device modeling. The system supports direct linkage to Agilent IC-CAP, User can extract flicker noise model parameter easily. All conditions of 1/f noise measurement, including Source/Load resistance, temperature and parasitic capacitance etc, are exported to IC-CAP automatically. Support and software upgrades There are no hidden costs with Agilent 1/f Noise Measurement Systems. All supports are completely free and permanent.

Rev.2 (2010.5.11)

TYPICAL PERFORMANCE
Measurement Device BJT (max 4 terminals) FET (max 4 terminals) Diode (max 2 terminals) Extraction Device BJT MOS-FET Frequency and RTS Noise Measurement SPICE Gummel-Poon BSIM3v3, BSIM4.5 Si, SiGe-HBT, Compound, etc. J-FET, MOS-FET, HEMT etc. PN-Junction, PIN etc.

Signal Analyzer
35670A 89410A 89600A E444xA (PSA) E5052B Option 011 E5052B Pre-Amplifier Noise Floor Voltage Gain DC Bias LPF cut-off frequency Output Voltage from SMU Output Current from SMU SMU 4142B 4155B, 4155C 4156B, 4156C B1500A Source/Load Resistance Source Load Tolerance Semi-auto Probe Station Cascade MicroTech SUSS MicroTec 1Hz 1Hz 1Hz 1Hz 10Hz 10Hz

Frequency
100KHz 10MHz 30MHz 30MHz 40MHz 40MHz

RTS
N/A

-177dBV2/Hz @100KHz 52dB @1MHz

0.55Hz @-3dB 50V max. 0.1A max.

MPSMU
41421B B1511A

HRSMU

HPSMU
41420A N/A

B1517A

N/A B1510A

0 Ohm to 100M Ohm, 11 selections 10 Ohm to 1M Ohm, 11 selections +/-1%

Nucleus 3.07 or later on Summit 12000K, S300 ProberBench CorePackage6.58.1 or later on

Rev.2 (2010.5.11)

PA200, PA300 Controller Laptop PC Microsoft Office Resistor Unit Weight Dimensions (unit=mm) ~8 kg Windows XP Professional Office 2007

Rev.2 (2010.5.11)

Rack Cabinets 1.6m Rack Cabinets (Agilent E3661B) Weight Dimensions Typical Rack Configuration (unit=mm) Loaded DC Source/Monitor, Signal Analyzer and Control Unit ~200 kg 600mm(W) 905mm(D) 1620mm(H)

Utilities and Environment AC Power Supply Voltage AC Power Supply Current Temperature Humidity Flicker Noise Model Parameter Extraction Software IC-CAP Model File for BJT IC-CAP Model File for MOS-FET Platform SPICE Gummel Poon BSIM3v3, BSIM4.5 IC-CAP 2009 or later Windows XP 100/120/200/220/240V +/-10%, 48 to 62Hz 15A max. 23 +/-5 degC 10 to 80%

Rev.2 (2010.5.11)