The role of the insulator in determining 1/f noise in Hg1-xCdxTe integrating MIS devices

The low frequency 1/f noise charge found in Hg_1-xCd_xTe integrating metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) devices operating at 40K and low bias above threshold is found to be independent of integration time. The signal theory of random processes is utilized to demonstrate that 1/f noise charge resulting from carrier number fluctuations due to insulator traps should not depend on integration time, while 1/f noise charge resulting from 1/f noise in any current filling the MIS well should be proportional to integration time. This distinction allows for the determination of effective insulator trap densities from low temperature 1/f noise data on simple MIS structures. The technique is applied to a number of n-channel and p-channel devices and the effective trap densities in ZnS are determined.