Burst noise is a type of
electronic noise
In electronics, noise is an unwanted disturbance in an electrical signal.
Noise generated by electronic devices varies greatly as it is produced by several different effects.
In particular, noise is inherent in physics, and central to the ...
that occurs in semiconductors and ultra-thin gate oxide films. It is also called random telegraph noise (RTN), popcorn noise, impulse noise, bi-stable noise, or random telegraph signal (RTS) noise.
It consists of sudden step-like transitions between two or more discrete voltage or current levels, as high as several hundred
microvolt
The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827).
Defi ...
s, at random and unpredictable times. Each shift in offset voltage or current often lasts from several milliseconds to seconds, and sounds like
popcorn
Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated; the same names also refer to the foodstuff produced by the expansion.
A popcorn kernel's strong hull contains the se ...
popping if hooked up to an audio speaker.
Popcorn noise was first observed in early
point contact diodes, then re-discovered during the commercialization of one of the first
semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical resistivity and conductivity, electrical conductivity value falling between that of a electrical conductor, conductor, such as copper, and an insulator (electricity), insulator, such as glas ...
op-amps; the 709.
No single source of popcorn noise is theorized to explain all occurrences, however the most commonly invoked cause is the random trapping and release of
charge carrier
In physics, a charge carrier is a particle or quasiparticle that is free to move, carrying an electric charge, especially the particles that carry electric charges in electrical conductors. Examples are electrons, ions and holes. The term is used ...
s at thin film interfaces or at defect sites in bulk
semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical resistivity and conductivity, electrical conductivity value falling between that of a electrical conductor, conductor, such as copper, and an insulator (electricity), insulator, such as glas ...
crystal. In cases where these charges have a significant impact on transistor performance (such as under an MOS gate or in a bipolar base region), the output signal can be substantial. These defects can be caused by manufacturing processes, such as heavy
ion implantation
Ion implantation is a low-temperature process by which ions of one element are accelerated into a solid target, thereby changing the physical, chemical, or electrical properties of the target. Ion implantation is used in semiconductor device fab ...
, or by unintentional side-effects such as surface contamination.
Individual op-amps can be screened for popcorn noise with peak detector circuits, to minimize the amount of noise in a specific application.
Burst noise is modeled mathematically by means of the
telegraph process
In probability theory, the telegraph process is a memoryless continuous-time stochastic process that shows two distinct values. It models burst noise (also called popcorn noise or random telegraph signal). If the two possible values that a rando ...
, a Markovian continuous-time
stochastic process
In probability theory and related fields, a stochastic () or random process is a mathematical object usually defined as a family of random variables. Stochastic processes are widely used as mathematical models of systems and phenomena that appea ...
that jumps discontinuously between two distinct values.
See also
*
Atomic electron transition
Atomic electron transition is a change (or jump) of an electron from one energy level to another within an atom or artificial atom. It appears discontinuous as the electron "jumps" from one quantized energy level to another, typically in a few na ...
*
Telegraph process
In probability theory, the telegraph process is a memoryless continuous-time stochastic process that shows two distinct values. It models burst noise (also called popcorn noise or random telegraph signal). If the two possible values that a rando ...
References
External links
A review of popcorn noise and smart filtering www.advsolned.com
{{Noise
Noise (electronics)