SOI technology for front end applications

Shaked, Z.; Hurwitz, P.; Heiman, A.; Moen, K.; Kanawati, R.; Chaudhry, S.; Racanelli, M.

doi:10.1109/comcas.2015.7360403

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Despite this difficulty, Figure 14 shows very clearly a distinctive downward trend in harmonics with a reduction level well beyond the dispersion range. In a switch, the second order non-linearities are dominated by C off , and third order non-linearities depend on both R on and C off [16,36]. With an increase in the gate voltage of the ON branch, both second and third harmonics levels reduce [37].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Substrate coupling increases the overall capacitance of the OFF branches, which leads to losses and a degraded R on × C off figure of merit (FoM) [15]. Additionally, the parasitic substrate impedance is a source of the non-linear behavior of the switch [16]. Thus, it is desirable to mitigate the substrate effects as shown in previous works where the removal of handler substrate has proved to offer multiple benefits for different kinds of RF circuits [17][18][19][20][21][22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Substrate-Induced Dissipative and Non-Linear Effects in RF Switches: Probing Ultimate Performance Based on Laser-Machined Membrane Suspension

et al. 2022

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With the evolution of radio frequency (RF)/microwave technology, there is a demand for circuits that are able to meet highly challenging RF front end specifications. Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology is one of the leading platforms for upcoming wireless generation. The degradation of performance due to substrate coupling is a key problem to address for telecommunication circuits, especially for the high throw count switches in RF front ends. In this context, a fast, flexible and local laser ablation technique of the silicon handler allows for the membrane suspension of large millimeter-scale circuits. This approach enables the evaluation of the ultimate performance in the absence of the substrate, i.e., without dissipative losses and substrate-induced non-linear effects, on capacitive comb coupling structures and RF switches. Compared to high-resistivity SOI substrates, the high frequency characterization of RF membrane switches reveals a superior linearity performance with a reduction in second and third harmonics by 17.7 dB and 7.8 dB, respectively. S-parameter analysis also reveals that membrane suspension entails insertion losses that are improved by 0.38 dB and signal reflection lowered by 4 dB due to a reduced off-state capacitance. With reference to a trap-rich substrate, the membrane suspension also achieves an additional 7.8 dB reduction in the second harmonic, indicating that there is still scope for improvement in this figure of merit. The obtained results demonstrate a new way to evaluate optimized circuit performance using post-fabrication substrate engineering.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substrate-Induced Dissipative and Non-Linear Effects in RF Switches: Probing Ultimate Performance Based on Laser-Machined Membrane Suspension

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Despite this measurement difficulty, Figure 12 shows very clearly a distinctive downward trend in harmonics with a level of reduction well beyond the dispersion range. In a switch, the second order non-linearities are dominated by Coff and third order non-linearities by Ron [14], [33]. With increase in gate voltage of the ON branch, both second and third harmonics levels reduce [34].…”

Section: Large Signal Harmonic Distortion Measurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Substrate coupling increases the overall capacitance of the OFF branches which leads to losses and a degraded Ron×Coff figure-of-merit (FoM) [13]. Additionally, the parasitic substrate impedance is a source of non-linear behavior of the switch [14]. Thus, it is desirable to mitigate the substrate effects as shown in previous works where removal of handler substrate has proved to offer multiple benefits for different kinds of RF circuits [15]- [20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%