Noise-reducing transistor arrangement

• US 7,733,157 B2
• Filed: 12/03/2004
• Issued: 06/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Original Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Inventors: Thewes, Roland, Koh, Jeongwook, Brederlow, Ralf, Pacha, Christian
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, LONG T
• Application Number:
  US10/583,538
• Publication Number:
  US 20070279120A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,013 Days
• Field of Search: 327/384, 327/386, 327/389, 327/403, 327/404, 327/427, 327/534, 327/537, 257/347, 257/348, 257/365
• US Class Current: 327/427
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/162 without feedback from the output circuit to the control circuit

Abstract

Noise-reducing transistor arrangement having first and second field effect transistors (FETs) having source terminals coupled together, drain terminals coupled together, and control terminals for application of a first or second signal. A clock generator unit is configured to provide the first and second signals alternately to the FETs with an alternating frequency which is at least as great as the cut-off frequency of the noise characteristic of the FETs, or with a reciprocal alternating frequency which is less than a mean lifetime of an occupation state of a defect in the boundary region between channel region and gate insulating layer of the FETs. The first signal is applied to the control terminal of the first FET and, simultaneously, the second signal to the control terminal of the second FET. The second signal is applied to the control terminal of the first FET and, simultaneously, the first signal to the control terminal of the second FET.

Claims

1. A noise-reducing transistor arrangement, comprising:

a first and a second field effect transistor, each of which has a source terminal, a drain terminal, and a control terminal for application of a first signal or a second signal;

wherein the source terminal of the first field effect transistor and the source terminal of the second field effect transistor are coupled to one another, and

wherein the drain terminal of the first field effect transistor and the drain terminal of the second field effect transistor are coupled to one another, and

a clock generator unit being configured to generate a first clock signal and a second clock signal, wherein the control terminal of the first field effect transistor is coupled to a first switching element which is switched by means of the first clock signal, and the control terminal of the second field effect transistor is coupled to a second switching element, which is switched by means of the second clock signal, wherein the first and the second switch elements are configured to switch between a connection with the first signal and a connection with the second signal such that the first signal and the second signal are alternately provided to the field effect transistors with an alternating frequency which is at least as great as the cut-off frequency of the noise characteristic of the field effect transistors, or with a reciprocal alternating frequency which is less than a mean lifetime of an occupation state of a defect in the boundary region between channel region and gate insulating layer of the field effect transistors,

wherein the first clock signal and the second clock signal are configured to control the first switch element and the second switch element respectively such that

the first signal is applied to the control terminal of the first field effect transistor and, simultaneously, the second signal is applied to the control terminal of the second field effect transistor, and

the second signal is applied to the control terminal of the first field effect transistor and, simultaneously, the first signal is applied to the control terminal of the second field effect transistor.

2. The transistor arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control terminal is a gate terminal or a substrate terminal.

3. The transistor arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

for a case where the control terminal of the first and of the second field effect transistor is a gate terminal, the first field effect transistor and the second field effect transistor have a substrate terminal as additional control terminal,

for a case where the control terminal of the first field effect transistor and of the second field effect transistor is a substrate terminal, the first field effect transistor and the second field effect transistor have a gate terminal as an additional control terminal, and

the additional control terminals of the first field effect transistor and of the second field effect transistor are coupled to one another.

4. The transistor arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the first and second signals is a useful signal and the respective other signal is a reference potential, or in which the first signal and the second signal are in each case a reference potential.

5. The transistor arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first field effect transistor and the second field effect transistor are structurally identical.

6. The transistor arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first signal and the second signal are applied alternately to the control terminal of the first field effect transistor and second field effect transistor, respectively, with an alternating frequency which is greater than the frequencies of a useful frequency band of an assigned circuit.

7. The transistor arrangement as claimed in claim 2, wherein at least one of the substrate terminals is set up as a well terminal of one of the two field effect transistors, which is formed in a well.

8. The transistor arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein both field effect transistors are of the same conduction type.

9. The transistor arrangement as claimed in claim 8, wherein both field effect transistors are n-MOS transistors.

10. The transistor arrangement as claimed in claim 8, wherein both field effect transistors are p-MOS transistors.

11. The transistor arrangement as claimed in claim 1, which is set up such that a respective one of the two field effect transistors is operated at an inversion operating point and the respective other of the two field effect transistors is operated at an accumulation or depletion operating point.

12. The transistor arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the first switching element is switched by means of the first clock signal with an alternating frequency,

the second switching element is switched by means of the second clock signal, which is complementary to the first clock signal, with the alternating frequency, and

by means of the respective switching elements, the first or the second signal is alternately applied to the respective control terminal of the respective field effect transistor with the alternating frequency.

13. The transistor arrangement as claimed in claim 12, wherein the first switching element and the second switching element are a first switching transistor arrangement and a second switching transistor arrangement, respectively, to the respective gate terminal of which the respective clock signal can be applied, and a respective source/drain terminal of a respective switching transistor being coupled to the control terminal of the respective field effect transistor.

14. The transistor arrangement as claimed in claim 1, which is formed at least one of on and in a silicon on insulator substrate.

15. The transistor arrangement as claimed in claim 1, which is realized using analog circuit technology.

16. The transistor arrangement as claimed in claim 14, further comprising at least one additional field effect transistor,

wherein each of the at least one additional field effect transistor has a source terminal and a drain terminal and also has a control terminal, to which the first signal or the second signal can be applied,

wherein the source terminal of the first field effect transistor and the source terminal of the second field effect transistor are coupled to the source terminal of each of the at least one additional field effect transistors,

wherein the drain terminal of the first field effect transistor and the drain terminal of the second field effect transistor are coupled to the drain terminal of each of the at least one additional field effect transistors, and

wherein the transistor arrangement is set up such that, in a first operating state, the first signal is applied to the control terminal of the first field effect transistor or of the second field effect transistor or of precisely one of the at least one additional field effect transistor and, simultaneously, the second signal is applied to the control terminals of all of the other field effect transistors, in subsequent operating states, the first signal being applied progressively to the control terminal of in each case one of the remaining field effect transistors and, simultaneously, the second signal being applied to the control terminals of all of the other field effect transistors.

17. The transistor arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clock generator unit is set up such that the clock generator unit provides the clock signals that are shifted relative to one another to control the switch elements that are coupled to the field effect transistors so that the first signal or the second signal is alternately provided to the field effect transistors.

18. The transistor arrangement as claimed in claim 16, wherein the clock generator unit is set up such that the clock generator unit prescribes the clock signals at least one of for reducing the heating of the field effect transistors formed at least one of on and in the silicon on insulator substrate, and for reducing the floating body effect of the field effect transistors formed at least one of on and in the silicon on insulator substrate.

19. An integrated circuit comprising at least one transistor arrangement as claimed in claim 1.

20. The integrated circuit as claimed in claim 19, set up as one of a differential stage circuit, a current source circuit, a current mirror circuit, and an operational amplifier circuit.

21. The integrated circuit as claimed in claim 19, set up as a current source circuit, wherein the drain terminal of the first field effect transistor and the drain terminal of the second field effect transistor are at ground potential.

22. The integrated circuit as claimed in claim 19, set up as a current source circuit, and further comprising a voltage source, wherein the drain terminal of the first field effect transistor and the drain terminal of the second field effect transistor are brought to a potential that is different from ground potential by means of the voltage source.

23. The integrated circuit as claimed in claim 19, set up as a cascaded current source circuit.

24. The transistor arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gate terminal of the first field effect transistor and the gate terminal of the second field effect transistor are coupled to one another.

25. The transistor arrangement as claimed in claim 24, wherein the well terminal of the first field effect transistor and the well terminal of the second field effect transistor are provided separately one another.

26. A method of reducing the noise of field effect transistors, comprising:

connecting a first field effect transistor and a second field effect transistor to one another, each of the field effect transistors having a source terminal and a drain terminal and also a control terminal for application of a first or a second signal, wherein the source terminal of the first field effect transistor and the source terminal of the second field effect transistor are coupled to one another, and wherein the drain terminal of the first field effect transistor and the drain terminal of the second field effect transistor are coupled to one another; and

applying the first signal and the second signal alternately to the field effect transistors with an alternating frequency which is at least as great as the cut-off frequency of the noise characteristic of the field effect transistors, or with a reciprocal alternating frequency which is less than a mean lifetime of an occupation state of a defect in the boundary region between channel region and gate insulating layer of the field effect transistors, wherein the applying step comprises;

applying the first signal to the control terminal of the first field effect transistor and, simultaneously applying the second signal to the control terminal of the second field effect transistor; and

applying the second signal to the control terminal of the first field effect transistor and, simultaneously applying the first signal to the control terminal of the second field effect transistor.

27. The method as claimed in claim 26, wherein a gate terminal or a substrate terminal is used as the control terminal.

28. The method as claimed in claim 27, wherein, by means of the alternating application of the first and second signals, the quasi-Fermi energy in a boundary region between channel region and gate insulating layer of the field effect transistors is periodically altered by a value which is greater than the product of the Boltzmann constant and the absolute temperature.

29. The method as claimed in claim 27, wherein, by means of the alternating application of the first and second signals, the quasi-Fermi energy in a boundary region between channel region and gate insulating layer of the field effect transistors is periodically altered by between approximately 100 meV and approximately 1 eV.

30. The method as claimed in claim 26, wherein the arrangement of the field effect transistors is formed at least one of on and in a silicon on insulator substrate.

31. The method as claimed in claim 26, wherein the first signal and the second signal are applied alternately to the control terminals of the first field effect transistor and of the second field effect transistor in such a way that at least one of the heating of the field effect transistors formed at least one of on and in the silicon on insulator substrate is reduced, and the floating body effect of the field effect transistors formed at least one of on and in the silicon on insulator substrate is reduced.