A 23.8-GHz SOI CMOS tuned amplifier

A 23.8-GHz tuned amplifier is demonstrated in a partially scaled 0.1-μm silicon-on-insulator CMOS technology. The fully integrated three-stage amplifier employs a common-gate, source-follower, and cascode with on-chip spiral inductors and MOS capacitors. The gain is 7.3 dB, while input and output reflection coefficients are -45 and -9.4 dB, respectively. Positive gain is exhibited beyond 26 GHz. The amplifier draws 53 mA from a 1.5-V supply. The measured on-wafer noise figure is 10 dB, while the input-referred third-order intercept point is -7.8 dBm. The results demonstrate that 0.1-μm CMOS technology may be used for 20-GHz RF applications and suggest even higher operating frequencies and better performance for further scaled technologies     

Single-pole double-throw CMOS switches for 900-MHz and 2.4-GHz applications on p/sup -/silicon substrates

A 900-MHz single-pole double-throw (SPDT) switch with an insertion loss of 0.5 dB and a 2.4-GHz SPDT switch with an insertion loss of 0.8 dB were implemented using 3.3-V 0.35-/spl mu/m NMOS transistors in a 0.18-/spl mu/m bulk CMOS process utilizing 20-/spl Omega//spl middot/cm p/sup -/ substrates. Impedance transformation was used to reduce the source and load impedances seen by the switch to increase the power handling capability. SPDT switches with 30-/spl Omega/ impedance transformation networks exhibit 0.97-dB insertion loss and 24.3-dBm output P/sub 1dB/ when tuned for 900-MHz operation, and 1.10-dB insertion loss and 20.6-dBm output P/sub 1dB/ when tuned for 2.4-GHz operation. The 2.4-GHz switch is the first bulk CMOS switch which can be used for 802.11b wireless local area network applications.     

A 4-91-GHz traveling-wave amplifier in a standard 0.12-/spl mu/m SOI CMOS microprocessor technology

This paper presents five-stage and seven-stage traveling-wave amplifiers (TWA) in a 0.12-/spl mu/m SOI CMOS technology. The five-stage TWA has a 4-91-GHz bandpass frequency with a gain of 5 dB. The seven-stage TWA has a 5-86-GHz bandpass frequency with a gain of 9 dB. The seven-stage TWA has a measured 18-GHz noise figure, output 1-dB compression point, and output third-order intercept point of 5.5 dB, 10 dBm, and 15.5 dBm, respectively. The power consumption is 90 and 130 mW for the five-stage and seven-stage TWA, respectively, at a voltage power supply of 2.6 V. The chips occupy an area of less than 0.82 and 1 mm for the five-stage and seven-stage TWA, respectively.     

SOI and bulk CMOS frequency dividers operating above 15 GHz

Dual-phase dynamic pseudo-NMOS ([DP]²) frequency dividers have been implemented in a partially scaled 0.1 μm CMOS technology. For 4:1 dividers on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and bulk substrates, the maximum speed, power consumption, and extracted [DP]² latch delays are 18.75 and 15.4 GHz, 13.5 and 9.8 mW and 13.3 and 16.2 ps, respectively, at 1.5 V     

The Invariance of Characteristic Current Densities in Nanoscale MOSFETs and Its Impact on Algorithmic Design Methodologies and Design Porting of Si(Ge) (Bi)CMOS High-Speed Building Blocks

This paper provides evidence that, as a result of constant-field scaling, the peak$f_T$(approx. 0.3$hbox mA/muhbox m$), peak$f_ MAX$(approx. 0.2$hbox mA/muhbox m$), and optimum noise figure$ NF_ MIN$(approx. 0.15$hbox mA/muhbox m$) current densities of Si and SOI n-channel MOSFETs are largely unchanged over technology nodes and foundries. It is demonstrated that the characteristic current densities also remain invariant for the most common circuit topologies such as MOSFET cascodes, MOS-SiGe HBT cascodes, current-mode logic (CML) gates, and nMOS transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs) with active pMOSFET loads. As a consequence, it is proposed that constant current-density biasing schemes be applied to MOSFET analog/mixed-signal/RF and high-speed digital circuit design. This will alleviate the problem of ever-diminishing effective gate voltages as CMOS is scaled below 90 nm, and will reduce the impact of statistical process variation, temperature and bias current variation on circuit performance. The second half of the paper illustrates that constant current-density biasing allows for the porting of SiGe BiCMOS cascode operational amplifiers, low-noise CMOS TIAs, and MOS-CML and BiCMOS-CML logic gates and output drivers between technology nodes and foundries, and even from bulk CMOS to SOI processes, with little or no redesign. Examples are provided of several record-setting circuits such as: 1) SiGe BiCMOS operational amplifiers with up to 37-GHz unity gain bandwidth; 2) a 2.5-V SiGe BiCMOS high-speed logic chip set consisting of 49-GHz retimer, 40-GHz TIAs, 80-GHz output driver with pre-emphasis and output swing control; and 3) 1-V 90-nm bulk and SOI CMOS TIAs with over 26-GHz bandwidth, less than 8-dB noise figure and operating at data rates up to 38.8 Gb/s. Such building blocks are required for the next generation of low-power 40–80 Gb/s wireline transceivers.     

A low-voltage 40-GHz complementary VCO with 15% frequency tuning range in SOI CMOS technology

The design of a low-voltage 40-GHz complementary voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) with 15% frequency tuning range fabricated in 0.13-/spl mu/m partially depleted silicon-on-insulator (SOI) CMOS technology is reported. Technological advantages of SOI over bulk CMOS are demonstrated, and the accumulation MOS (AMOS) varactor limitations on frequency tuning range are addressed. At 1.5-V supply, the VCO core and each output buffer consumes 11.25 mW and 3 mW of power, respectively. The measured phase noise at 40-GHz is -109.73 dBc/Hz at 4-MHz offset from the carrier, and the output power is -8 dBm. VCO performance using high resistivity substrate (/spl sim/300-/spl Omega//spl middot/cm) has the same frequency tuning range but 2 dB better phase noise compared with using low resistivity substrate (10 /spl Omega//spl middot/cm). The VCO occupies a chip area of only 100 /spl mu/m by 100 /spl mu/m (excluding pads).     

CMOS scaling for high performance and low power-the next ten years

A guideline for scaling of CMOS technology for logic applications such as microprocessors is presented covering the next ten years, assuming that the lithography and base process development driven by DRAM continues on the same three-year cycle as in the past. This paper emphasizes the importance of optimizing the choice of power-supply voltage. Two CMOS device and voltage scaling scenarios are described. One optimized for highest speed and the other trading off speed improvement for much lower power. It is shown that the low power scenario is quite close to the original constant electric-field scaling theory. CMOS technologies ranging from 0.25 μm channel length at 2.5 V down to sub-0.1 μm at 1 V are presented and power density is compared for the two scenarios. Scaling of the threshold voltage along with the power supply voltage will lead to a substantial rise in standby power compared to active power and some tradeoffs of performance and/or changes in design methods must be made. Key technology elements and their impact on scaling are discussed. It is shown that a speed improvement of about 7× and over two orders of magnitude improvement in power-delay product (mW/MIPS) are expected by scaling of bulk CMOS down to the sub-0.1 μm regime as compared with today's high performance 0.6 μm devices at 5 V. However, the power density rises by a factor of 4× for the high-speed scenario. The status of the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) approach to scaled CMOS is also reviewed, showing the potential for about 3× savings in power compared to the bulk case at the same speed     

Design of SOI CMOS operational amplifiers for applications up to300°C

Design guidelines using two analog parameters (Early voltage and transconductance to drain current ratio) are proposed for correct operation of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) CMOS operational amplifiers (opamp) at elevated temperature up to 300°C. The dependence of these parameters on temperature is first described. A new single-stage CMOS opamp model using only these two parameters is presented and compared to measurements of several implementations operating up to 300°C for applications such as micropower (below 4 μW at 1.2 V supply voltage), high gain (65 dB) or high frequency up to 100 MHz. Trade-offs among such factors as gain, bandwidth, phase margin, signal swing, noise, matching, slew rate and power consumption are described. The extension to other architectures is suggested and the design methodology is valid for bulk as well as SOI CMOS opamps     

Ultralong dispersion-shifted erbium-doped fiber amplifier and itsapplication to soliton transmission

Distributed, dispersion-shifted erbium-doped fiber amplifiers with doping concentrations as low as 0.1-0.5 p.p.m. (0.1-0.5×10^-4 wt.%) were fabricated and their grain characteristics studied for the purpose of soliton amplification. A 9.4-km dual-shape-core-type amplifier with a 0.5-p.p.m. concentration had a gain of more than 20 dB at 1.535 μm and 10 dB at 1.552 μm with a forward pumping configuration, and it could successfully amplify and transmit a 20-ps soliton pulse train at a 2.5-GHz repetition rate. The soliton transmission characteristics of an 18.2 km long fiber amplifier were studied using backward and forward pumping. It was found that A=1.5 soliton pulses with a pulse width of 20 ps could be amplified over 18.2 km at a repetition rate of 5 GHz, where soliton narrowing to 16 ps was observed     

RF power LDMOSFET on SOI

We have fabricated a SOI laterally diffused MOSFET that is designed for use in radio frequency power amplifiers for wireless system-on-a-chip applications. The device is fabricated on a thin-film SOI wafer using a process that is suitable for integration with SOI CMOS. An under-source body contact is implemented and both a high breakdown voltage and a high f_t are attained. The device performance compares favorably with bulk silicon rf power MOSFETs. For a gate length of 0.7 μm the device f_t is 14 GHz, f_max is 18 GHz, and the breakdown voltage approaches 25 V     

SOS/CMOS as a High-Performance LSI Device

To realize a high-performance LSI, the devices used should satisfy the following requirements: 1) high-speed operation, 2) low power consumption, 3) easy designability, and 4) high integration capability. SOS/CMOS has been examined both experimentally and theoretically for these aspects. Ideal CMOS operation with /spl tau//sub pd/ ~ 100 ps with 0.1-pJ energy required to switch an inverter is obtained. 1-GHz operation is confirmed on dynamic 1/16 frequency dividers with 1.0-/spl mu/m effective channel-length devices. Using the same device, a maximum multiplying time, /spl tau//sub mul/ ~ 25 ns at 5 V with 15-mW average power at 10/sup 7/ multiplications/s is obtained on a 4 X 4 parallel multiplier. The above result agrees with circuit simulation predictions without including stray capacitance associated with the wiring. The same simulation predicts rmul ~ 60 ns with a maximum power dissipation of 200 mW at 16-MHz operation for a 16 X 16 parallel multiplier. This prediction is also confirmed experimentally. These facts indicate good designability of SOS/CMOS. For larger scale integration capability estimation, power dissipation and wiring delay were examined theoretically for bulk NMOS, bulk CMOS, and SOS/CMOS. The results indicate that for smaller scale integration, bulk NMOS and SOS/CMOS operate faster than bulk CMOS. However, for larger scale integration, SOS/CMOS operates faster than bulk CMOS which, in turn, operates faster than bulk NMOS.     

On-chip matched 5.2 and 5.8 GHz differential LNAs fabricated using0.35 μm CMOS technology

The authors have designed experimental 5.2 and 5.8 GHz low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) using 0.35 μm CMOS technology. The ICs feature on-chip matching to 50 Ω, differential operation, and open drain output buffers. A return loss of better than -15 dB was achieved for both amplifiers. LC parallel resonant loads were used to form the gain peak. The LNAs had a measured noise figure of 4 to 5 dB, at VSS=3.3 V     

A fully integrated 24-dBm CMOS power amplifier for 802.11a WLAN applications

A fully integrated 24-dBm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) power amplifier (PA) for 5-GHz WLAN applications is implemented using 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS foundry process. It consists of differential three-stage amplifiers and fully integrated input/output matching circuits. The amplifier shows a P/sub 1/ of 21.8 dBm, power added efficiency of 13%, and gain of 21 dB, respectively. The saturated output power is above 24.1 dBm. This shows the highest output power among the reported 5-GHz CMOS PAs as well as completely satisfying IEEE 802.11a transmitter back off requirement.     

SOS/CMOS as a high-performance LSI device

To realize a high-performance LSI, the devices used should satisfy the following requirements: 1) high-speed operation, 2) low power consumption, 3) easy designability, and 4) high integration capability. SOS/CMOS has been examined both experimentally and theoretically for these aspects. Ideal CMOS operation withtau_{pd} sim 100ps with 0.1-pJ energy required to switch an inverter is obtained. 1-GHz operation is confirmed on dynamic 1/16 frequency dividers with 1.0-µm effective channel-length devices. Using the same device, a maximum multiplying time,tau_{mul} sim 25ns at 5 V with 15-mW average power at 10⁷multiplications/s is obtained on a 4 × 4 parallel multiplier. The above result agrees with circuit simulation predictions without including stray capacitance associated with the wiring. The same simulation predictstau_{mul} sim 60ns with a maximum power dissipation of 200 mW at 16-MHz operation for a 16 × 16 parallel multiplier. This prediction is also confirmed experimentally. These facts indicate good designability of SOS/CMOS. For larger scale integration capability estimation, power dissipation and wiring delay were examined theoretically for bulk NMOS, bulk CMOS, and SOS/CMOS. The results indicate that for smaller scale integration, bulk NMOS and SOS/CMOS operate faster than bulk CMOS. However, for larger scale integration, SOS/CMOS operates faster than bulk CMOS which, in turn, operates faster than bulk NMOS.     

CMOS-compatible high-speed planar silicon photodiodes fabricated onSOI substrates

We report high-speed planar silicon p-i-n photodiodes fabricated on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates. The devices were fabricated in standard CMOS technology with no additional fabrication steps required. The 250-nm finger-spacing devices exhibited 15- and 8-GHz bandwidths for devices processed on 200- and 2000-nm SOI substrates, respectively, at a reverse bias of -9 V. Quantum efficiencies of 12% and 2% were measured on the 2- and 0.2-μm thick SOI, respectively. The dark current was 5 pA for -3 V bias and 500 μA for -9 V bias     

Modeling of the bulk versus SOI CMOS performances for the optimal design of APS circuits in low-power low-voltage applications

In this paper, we present the top-down design of an active pixel sensor (APS) circuit using an analytical model of its architecture. The model is applied to compare the performances of bulk versus silicon-on-insulator (SOI) CMOS processes and devices on the designs and performance of several 50-frames/s imagers in 2-/spl mu/m and 0.25-/spl mu/m CMOS with different pixels array sizes. For 2-/spl mu/m SOI, results show a reduction by two of the power consumption and a dynamic range increase of 0.85 V under a 3-V supply. This results in an SNR of 79 dB instead of 76. Fixed pattern noise (FPN) is also reduced from 2.7 to 1.8 mV which represents 0.26% and 0.08% of the dynamic range, respectively. For 0.25-/spl mu/m CMOS SOI, results show a reduction by 6.5 of the power consumption, FPN more than five time better, and a dynamic range increase of 0.29 V under a 1.5-V supply. However, because of the increase of the thermal noise due to the particular design choice, an SNR of 60.3 dB is achieved compared to 63 in bulk. A better SNR in SOI than in bulk can be achieved but at the expense of power consumption and FPN. However, this could be combined with an increase in pixels number in SOI compared to bulk. Potential results achievable in SOI have to our knowledge never been reached by bulk APS imagers up to now.     

Low-power CMOS continuous-time filters

A design technique for low-power continuous-time filters using digital CMOS technology is presented. The basic building block is a fully-balanced integrator with its unity-gain frequency determined by a small-signal transconductance and MOSFET gate capacitance. Integrator excess phase shift is reduced using balanced signal paths, and open-loop gain is increased using low-voltage cascode amplifiers. Two-pole bandpass and five-pole lowpass ladder filters have been implemented in a 1.2 μm n-well CMOS process. The lowpass prototypes provided 300 kHz-1000 kHz bias-current-tunable -3 dB bandwidth, 67 dB dynamic range with 1% total harmonic distortion (THD), and 30 μW/pole (300 kHz bandwidth) power dissipation with a 1.5 V supply; the bandpass prototypes had a tunable center frequency of 300 kHz-1000 kHz, Q of 8.5, and power dissipation of 75 μW/pole (525 kHz center frequency) from a 1.5 V supply. The active filter area was 0.1 mm²/pole for both designs     

A 1.3-V 5-mW fully integrated tunable bandpass filter at 2.1 GHz in 0.35-/spl mu/m CMOS

A 2.1-GHz 1.3-V 5-mW fully integrated Q-enhancement LC bandpass biquad programmable in f/sub o/, Q, and peak gain is implemented in 0.35-/spl mu/m standard CMOS technology. The filter uses a resonator built with spiral inductors and inversion-mode pMOS capacitors that provide frequency tuning. The Q tuning is through an adjustable negative-conductance generator, whereas the peak gain is tuned through an input G/sub m/ stage. Noise and nonlinearity analyses presented demonstrate the design tradeoffs involved. Measured frequency tuning range around 2.1 GHz is 13%. Spiral inductors with Q/sub o/ of 2 at 2.1 GHz limit the spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) at 31-34 dB within the frequency tuning range. Measurements show that the peak gain can be tuned within a range of around two octaves. The filter sinks 4 mA from a 1.3-V supply providing a Q of 40 at 2.19 GHz with a 1-dB compression point dynamic range of 35 dB. The circuit operates with supply voltages ranging from 1.2 to 3 V. The silicon area is 0.1 mm/sup 2/.     

Algorithmic Design of CMOS LNAs and PAs for 60-GHz Radio

Sixty-gigahertz power (PA) and low-noise (LNA) amplifiers have been implemented, based on algorithmic design methodologies for mm-wave CMOS amplifiers, in a 90-nm RF-CMOS process with thick 9-metal-layer Cu backend and transistor f_T/f_MAX of 120 GHz/200 GHz. The PA, fabricated for the first time in CMOS at 60 GHz, operates from a 1.5-V supply with 5.2 dB power gain, a 3-dB bandwidth >13 GHz, a P _1dB of +6.4 dBm with 7% PAE and a saturated output power of +9.3 dBm at 60 GHz. The LNA represents the first 90-nm CMOS implementation at 60 GHz and demonstrates improvements in noise, gain and power dissipation compared to earlier 60-GHz LNAs in 160-GHz SiGe HBT and 0.13-mum CMOS technologies. It features 14.6 dB gain, an IIP ₃ of -6.8 dBm, and a noise figure lower than 5.5 dB, while drawing 16 mA from a 1.5-V supply. The use of spiral inductors for on-chip matching results in highly compact layouts, with the total PA and LNA die areas with pads measuring 0.35times0.43 mm² and 0.35times0.40 mm², respectively     

A 1-V 3.8 - 5.7-GHz wide-band VCO with differentially tuned accumulation MOS varactors for common-mode noise rejection in CMOS SOI technology

In this paper, a 1-V 3.8 - 5.7-GHz wide-band voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) in a 0.13-/spl mu/m silicon-on-insulator (SOI) CMOS process is presented. This VCO features differentially tuned accumulation MOS varactors that: 1) provide 40% frequency tuning when biased between 0 - 1 V and 2) diminish the adverse effect of high varactor sensitivity through rejection of common-mode noise. This paper shows that, for differential LC VCOs, all low-frequency noise such as flicker noise can be considered to be common-mode noise, and differentially tuned varactors can be used to suppress common-mode noise from being upconverted to the carrier frequency. The noise rejection mechanism is explained, and the technological advantages of SOI over bulk CMOS in this regard is discussed. At 1-MHz offset, the measured phase noise is -121.67 dBc/Hz at 3.8 GHz, and -111.67 dBc/Hz at 5.7 GHz. The power dissipation is between 2.3 - 2.7-mW, depending on the center frequency, and the buffered output power is -9 dBm. Due to the noise rejection, the VCO is able to operate at very low voltage and low power. At a supply voltage of 0.75 V, the VCO only dissipates 0.8 mW at 5.5 GHz.