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.