1/f Noise and RTS(Random Telegraph Signal) Errors in Comparators and Sense Amplifiers

Noise signals can be equivalently represented in either the frequency domain or the time domain. The representation or modeling in the frequency domain gives the mean square noise current of a transistor as a function of frequency. The representation or modeling of the RTS or l/f noise of nanoscale devices that is easiest to understand is that done in the time domain. The capture and emission of a single electron in a nanoscale NMOS transistor with be equivalent to a change in threshold voltage. Modern devices are now small enough that we can see RTS noise signals associated with single electron trapping. These changes in threshold voltage result in a mismatch in comparators and sense amplifiers in CMOS integrated circuits,