Generation‐recombination noise analysis in heavily doped p‐type GaAs transmission line models

Low-frequency noise measurements are performed on heavily doped p-type GaAs transmission line models. Excess noise exhibits 1/f noise and generation-recombination (GR) noise components. A study of the GR components vs device geometry shows the spectral densities due to contact resistances to be negligible. Thus the noise sources due to the volume resistances are predominant, and have to be located in the bulk layer or in the space-charge region of the devices. These two possibilities concerning the location of the GR noise sources are investigated. For both cases, expressions for the variance and the relaxation time associated to fluctuations in the charge carriers are given. The comparison between the experimental data with the theoretical results shows that the GR noise sources are located in all probability in the space-charge region

Low-frequency noise in modern bipolar transistors: impact of intrinsic transistor and parasitic series resistances

In modern submicrometer transistors, the influence of the internal base and emitter series resistances, on both the I-V characteristics and the LF noise at higher bias currents, becomes important. In this paper expressions are presented for the LF noise in transistors, where the influence of the series resistances has been taken into account. The expressions have been compared with recent experimental results from the literature obtained from modern submicrometer (heterojunction) bipolar transistors. At low forward currents the LF noise in such transistors is determined by spontaneous fluctuations in the base and collector currents. In most transistors at higher forward currents, the parasitic series resistances and their noise become importan