Lecture 23 Electronic Noise

Boris Murmann Stanford University murmann@stanford.edu

Copyright 2004 by Boris Murmann

B. Murmann

EE 214 Lecture 23 (HO#31)

Overview
Reading 11.1 (Noise Introduction) 11.2.2 (Thermal Noise) 11.3.3 (MOS Transistor Noise) Introduction Today's lecture provides a brief introduction to electronic noise in resistors and MOSFET devices. We'll look at both the "fundamental" thermal noise and also technology dependent 1/f noise. While 1/f noise is usually negligible at radio frequencies, it has become a non-negligible component in many "baseband" applications, mostly due to an increase in the so-called "1/f corner" in modern technologies.

B. Murmann

EE 214 Lecture 23 (HO#31)

Types of Noise
"Man made noise", interference noise Signal coupling Substrate coupling Finite power supply rejection Solutions
Fully differential circuits Layout techniques

"Electronic noise" or "device noise" Fundamental

E.g. "thermal noise" caused by random motion of carriers

Technology related
"Flicker noise" caused by material defects and "roughness"

B. Murmann

EE 214 Lecture 23 (HO#31)

Significance of Electronic Noise

Limits minimum signal that can be processed/detected The noise level of a circuit directly trades with power dissipation and speed In most circuits, low noise dictates the use of large capacitors and/or large gm which means high power dissipation
More next lecture

Noise has become increasingly important in modern technologies with reduced supply voltages Signal to noise ratio ~ Vswing2/Pnoise Designing a low power, precision circuit requires good understanding of electronic noise!

B. Murmann

EE 214 Lecture 23 (HO#31)

Ideal Resistor

i(t)

i(t) 1V/1k

1V

1k

Constant current, independent of time Non-physical In a physical resistor, carriers "randomly" collide with lattice atoms, giving rise to small current variations over time
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Physical Resistor

i(t)

i(t) 1V/1k

1V

1k

in(t)

"Thermal Noise" or "Johnson Noise"

J.B. Johnson, "Thermal Agitation of Electricity in Conductors," Phys. Rev., pp. 97-109, July 1928.

Can model random current component e.g. using a noise current source in(t)
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Properties of Thermal Noise

Present in any conductor Independent of DC current flow Instantaneous noise value is unpredictable since it is a result of a large number of random, superimposed collisions with relaxation time constants of 0.17ps Consequences:
Gaussian amplitude distribution Knowing in(t) does not help predict in(t+t), unless t is on the order of 0.17ps (cannot sample signals this fast) The power generated by thermal noise is spread up to very high frequencies (1/ 6,000Grad/s)

The only predictable property of thermal noise is its average power!

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Average Power
For a deterministic current signal with period T, the average power is given by
1 2 Pav = / i2 (t ) R dt T T
T/2

This definition can be extended to capture non-deterministic random signals Assuming a real, stationary and ergodic random process
1 2 Pn = lim / i2n (t ) R dt T T T
T/2

For notational convenience, we often drop R in the above expression and work with "mean square" values
1 2 i = lim in (t ) dt T T T / 2
2 n T/2

B. Murmann

EE 214 Lecture 23 (HO#31)

Thermal Noise Spectrum

The so-called power spectral density (PSD) shows how much power a signal caries at a particular frequency In the case of thermal noise, the power is spread uniformly up to very high frequencies (about 10% drop at 2,000GHz)
PSD(f) n0

The total average noise power Pn in a particular frequency band can be found by integrating the PSD
Pn = PSD( f ) df
f1 f2

B. Murmann

EE 214 Lecture 23 (HO#31)

Thermal Noise Power

Nyquist showed that the noise PSD of a resistor is
PSD( f ) = n0 = 4 kT

k is the Boltzmann constant and T is the absolute temperature 4kT = 1.6610-20 Joules at room temperature The total average noise power of a resistor in a certain frequency band is therefore
Pn = 4 kT df = 4 kT ( f 2 f 1 ) = 4 kT f
f1 f2

B. Murmann

EE 214 Lecture 23 (HO#31)

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Equivalent Noise Generators

Can model the noise using either an equivalent voltage or current generator
Pn 1 = 4 kT f R R

v = Pn R = 4 kT R f
2 n

2 in =

For R = 1k :
2 2 vn 18 V = 16 10 f Hz 2 vn = 4 nV / Hz f

For R = 1k :
2 2 in 24 A = 16 10 f Hz 2 in = 4 pA / Hz f

B. Murmann

EE 214 Lecture 23 (HO#31)

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Two Resistors in Series

vn1(t)

vn2(t)

vn(t)

2 vn = vn 1 vn 2

2 2 = v n 1 + vn 2 2 vn 1 vn 2

R1

R2

R1+R2

Since vn1(t) and vn2(t) are statistically independent, we have

2 2 2 vn = vn1 + vn 2 = 4 kT (R1 + R2 ) f

Always remember to add independent noise sources using mean squared quantities Never add RMS values!
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MOSFET Thermal Noise (1)

As one would expect, the noise of a MOSFET operating in the triode region is equal to that of a resistor In the forward active region, the thermal noise of a MOSFET can be modeled using a drain current source with spectral density
2 id = 4 kT g m f

For a long channel MOSFET =2/3 For the past ten years, researchers have been debating over the value of in short channels Preliminary (wrong) results had suggested that in short channels can be as high as 25 due to hot carrier effects

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MOSFET Thermal Noise (2)

Fortunately, these discussions have come to an end with the conclusion that short channels have 1
A.J. Scholten et al., "Noise modeling for RF CMOS circuit simulation," IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, pp. 618-632, March 2003.

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Spice Simulation
Can simulate/plot spectral density of mean square drain current using a .noise analysis (see manual for more info)
Spice 4kT*2/3*gm

2 avg(id )/df [A 2/Hz]

10

-22

???

10

-23

10

-24

10
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-2

10

-1

10

10 f [MHz]

10

10

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1/f Noise (1)

Also called "flicker noise" Caused by traps near Si/SiO2 interface that randomly capture and release carriers Occurs in virtually any device, but is most pronounced in MOSFETS The spectral density of flicker noise is given by
i12/ f = K f I D f L2 Cox f

Kf is strongly dependent on technology Typical numbers for 0.35m CMOS

Kf,NMOS = 2.010-29 AF Kf,PMOS = 3.510-29 AF

B. Murmann

EE 214 Lecture 23 (HO#31)

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1/f Noise (2)

The total 1/f noise contribution is found by integrating the spectral density
i12/ f ,tot = K f I D f K f I D f 2 K f I D f = 2 ln = 2 2.3 log 2 L2 Cox f L Cox f1 L Cox f 1 f1
f2

Important to realize that total flicker noise depends on the number of frequency decades Same total noise in 110Hz as in 10100Hz Example: ID=10A, L=1m, Cox=5.3fF/m2, f2=1MHz
f 1 = 1Hz : f 1 = 1 / Year : i12/ f ,tot = 722 pArms i12/ f ,tot = 1082 pArms

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EE 214 Lecture 23 (HO#31)

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1/f Noise Corner

By definition, the frequency at which the flicker noise density equals the thermal noise density
K f I D f = 4 kT g m f L2 Cox f co f co = 1 1 4 kT L2 g m / I D Kf

Example: gm/ID=10V-1, =1
fco,NMOS L=0.35m L=1m 192kHz 24kHz fco,PMOS 34kHz 4kHz

In more recent technologies, 1/f corner frequencies can be on the order of 10MHz
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MOS Model with Noise Generator

Cgd G + vgs vbs + Cgb Csb Cgs gmvgs gmbvbs i 2 d Cdb
Noiseless!
K f I D f L2 Cox f

D ro

2 id = 4 kT g m f +

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Other MOSFET Noise Sources

Gate noise "Shot noise" from gate leakage current Noise from to finite resistance of gate material Noise due to randomly changing potential/capacitance between channel and bulk
Relevant only at very high frequencies

Bulk noise More in EE314

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EE 214 Lecture 23 (HO#31)

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