Deeply scaled CMOS for RF power applications

The microelectronics industry is striving to reduce the cost, complexity, and form factor of wireless systems through single-chip integration of analog, RF and digital functions. Driven by the requirements of the digital system components, the 90 nm and 65 nm technology nodes are currently emerging as platforms for highly integrated systems. Achieving such integration while minimizing the cost of adding specialized RF modules places high demands on the base CMOS technology. In this regard, the integration of the power amplifier (PA) function becomes an increasing challenge as technology geometries and supply voltages scale down. Gate length (Lg) scaling yields improved frequency response, promising higher power-added efficiency (PAE), a key RF PA consideration. This benefit comes at the cost of a lower drain voltage, which demands a higher output current and thus wider devices in order to produce a given output power level (Po,,). In this work, we have investigated the potential of deeply scaled CMOS for RF power applications, from 0.25 um down to 65 nm. We demonstrate the frequency and power limitations that the different CMOS technologies face, and describe the physical mechanisms that give rise to these limitations.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Scholvin, Jörg, 1976-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Jesús A. del Alamo.

• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/37904

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/37904