Random telegraph noise: The key to single defect studies in nano-devices

• Extraction of Random Telegraph Signals (RTSs) parameters in small area MOSFETs.
• Colored Time Lag Plot method for RTS parameters.
• Observation of slow and fast RTS in vertical poly transistors.
• Use of RTS amplitude for trap localization.

A review is given of the different methods to extract the main parameters from a Random Telegraph Signal (RTS) occurring in the channel current of small-area Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors, namely, its amplitude and its average up and down time constants. The advantages of using a so-called colored Time Lag Plot will be illustrated, enabling the detection of single defects in semiconductor materials and devices with high sensitivity. It will finally be shown that a detailed modeling of the RTS amplitude in vertical polycrystalline silicon transistors can yield the position of the trap in the channel with high accuracy.