The effect of the velocity saturation region (VSR) on the impedance field of proto-type MOSFET devices, which operate in the saturation region, was investigated to analyze the drain thermal noise. An enhanced impedance field for the drain thermal noise was derived based on the well-known physical analyses of MOSFET noise. The mechanism of the VSR in inducing the drain thermal noise has been explicated by using a self-consistent equivalent circuit model of the saturated MOSFETs. This alternative description was found to be consistent with the analytical derivation. The present analysis has been demonstrated to be consistent with the behavior of empirical drain thermal noise. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.