TYPES OF NOISE IN LNA AMPLIFIER 1.

1 NOISE IN LNA One of the factors which governs the performance of any amplifier system is the noise in the system. Noise might be defined as signals in the system which are unwanted and which degrade the desired signal content in the system. As far as the amplifier system is concerned, noise can be divided into noise it receives at its input and noise it generates itself. A good system is one in which the noise generated by the amplifier itself is small compared to noise from the incoming source. The noise of a system or network can be defined in three different but related ways[1]: noise factor (Fn), noise figure (NF) and equivalent noise temperature (Te) ; these properties are definable as a simple ratio, decibel ratio or temperature, respectively. Modelling of noise provides critical information in the design of RF circuits, especially for LNA (low noise amplier) blocks. The LNA is typically the rst stage of a radio receiver and needs to provide sufcient gain while introducing the least noise possible. Since it is indispensable to understand the physical phenomena of broadband noise and to incorporate this information into the models, lack of understanding of MOSFET noise presents a substantial barrier to the implementation of CMOS receivers.

1.2 SOURCES OF NOISE A physical understanding of both intrinsic and extrinsic noise mechanisms in a MOSFET is necessary while designing LNA. Intrinsic noise mechanisms fundamental to device operation include channel thermal noise, induced gate noise, and induced substrate noise. While the effect of channel thermal noise is observable at zero drain-to-source voltage, the induced gate and substrate noise do not manifest themselves under these conditions. However, the attendant fluctuations in the channel charge are observable by the passage of electric current through the device. Extrinsic noise mechanisms manifested due to structural evolution of the MOSFET include the distributed gate resistance noise, distributed substrate resistance noise, bulk charge effects, substrate current super shot noise, gate current noise, excess channel noise and 1/f noise.

1.2.1 CHANNEL THERMAL NOISE A MOS device is essentially a four-terminal voltage-controlled resistor, the four terminals being the source, drain, gate, and substrate. The voltage-controlled resistor is the

FET channel connecting the source and the drain. The voltage control is typically applied from the gate electrode. In such a system, the first fundamental source of noise is the channel resistance itself. It exists due to the physical resistance of the channel between the drain and the gate . Since the channel is induced only when a voltage is applied at the gate, the physical resistance is present when the channel is on and noise is generated by the carriers in the
2 channel and appears as thermal noise current which is modelled as noise current source id

[2]. An equation relating the thermal noise current generated by the device due to the channel resistance is given by (4)
2 4kT gd0 id

(4)

where k is the Boltzmann constant, T is the absolute temperature of the sample, gd0 is the drain conductance at zero drain to-source voltage, and is the long-channel biasdependent noise parameter. According to this model, the noise parameter approaches unity when the drain-to-source voltage VDS approaches zero and decreases to two-thirds as the device enters the saturation regime and remains at that value when VDS exceeds the saturation value.

1.2.2 INDUCED GATE NOISE The thermal noise voltage fluctuations in the FET channel lead to a fluctuating potential distribution in it. The channel being one plate of the MOS capacitor, these voltage fluctuations generate a fluctuating charge across the gate capacitor of the FET [2]. This fluctuating charge is equivalent to a fluctuating gate current whose magnitude is directly proportional to the frequency of interest and the induced gate noise current is modelled as given by equation (5),
2 ig

64 2 C2 kT 135 gd 0

(5)

where C is the gate capacitance, and is the frequency of operation. The voltage fluctuations generated by this gate current across the gate impedance manifest themselves at the FET channel via the device transconductance. However, at VDS = 0, since the device transconductance vanishes, the effect of these induced gate current fluctuations on the FET is eliminated. Since the drain and gate current fluctuations arise from the same source, they must be correlated and it is given by equation (6). For VDS = 0, the cross-correlation vanishes.

id ig

4 jkTC 9

(6)

1.2.3 FLICKER NOISE (1/f noise) Flicker noise is signicantly larger in MOSFETs than in other types of devices since it is quite closely related to surface phenomena. Larger MOSFETs exhibit less icker noise since larger gate oxide capacitance smooths the uctuations in channel charge. In FETs, the noise is induced in the channel under the gate. Since the effect takes place in the channel between
2 the drain and the source, the 1/f noise current generator is included in id [2]. 1/f noise in Si-

MOSFET devices usually exceeds the noise level of bipolar devices. This may be due to the behaviour of surface effects since the current path is near the silicon surface this is mainly due to dangling bonds in the Si-SiO2 interface. It is also known as 1/f noise since its spectral density is inversely proportional to the frequency and it is given by the equation (7),
i2 n

k g2 m f 2 f WL Cox

(7)

where K is a constant dependent on the device type and processing, gm is the device transconductance , W and L are the gate dimensions, Cox is gate capacitance per unit area,f is the frequency, and f is the bandwidth of observation. In LNAs where the frequency of the received signal is about several Gigahertz, flicker noise does not play an important role and is usually ignored.

1.2.4 Shot Noise Shot Noise exists in FETs, bipolar transistors, and diodes. Random movements of the carriers across a junction cause the current, I, to fluctuate. This fluctuation also depends on bias conditions. Shot noise sources cause a noise current that is concentrated around low frequencies. Similarly to 1/f noise, it transforms to thermal noise at higher frequencies. The general shot noise equation is the following. The shot noise in FETs is attributed to the gate
2 leakage current [1]. The shot noise for the FET is contained in the noise current source ig and

it is given by the equation (8)

i 2 2qIf

(8)

Where q is the charge of the charge carriers and f is the bandwidth.

1.2.5 SUBSTRATE NOISE The substrate or bottom gate also influence the MOS noise properties.The bottom gate typically consists of an epitaxial layer grown on a low-resistivity silicon substrate with a contact to the back surface of the wafer. If the device is fabricated in a tub, this tub is kept at a constant potential via a tub contact. In either case, the relatively lightly doped epitaxial layer contributes to a significant resistance between the back of the channel and the dc potential provided by the contact [2]. Three sources of substrate noise have been identified. 1.2.5.1 Induced Substrate noise Noise coupled in the substrate due to the channel thermal fluctuations. 1.2.5.2 Substrate Resistance noise This is caused due to the coupling between bulk and source, bulk and drain 1.2.5.3 Substrate Supershot noise This is caused due to Impact Ionisation, the high electric field at the drain side causes hole current in the substrate.

1.2.6 OTHER NOISE SOURCES

Thermal noise due to the distributed gate resistance (Rg ) Thermal noise due to source and drain resistances Rs and Rd Shot noise due to gate tunneling current and junction diodes Noise due to hot electrons (in submicron devices) RTS noise

1.2.7 EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT TO ILLUSTRATE THE NOISE SOURCES IN A MOSFET

Figure 1: Noise equivalent circuit

2 2 , iS , and i 2 iG D - terminal resistance noise at the gate, source, and drain

2 - channel noise including the flicker noise portion id

2 2 i2 DB , iSB , and i DSB - substrate resistance noise

2 - induced gate noise ig

2 - Substrate supershot noise iSUBSHOT