Oxide Breakdown After RF Stress: Experimental Analysis and Effects on Power Amplifier Operation

Larcher, Luca; Sanzogni, D.; Brama, R.; Mazzanti, Andrea; Svelto, F.

doi:10.1109/relphy.2006.251229

Cited by 50 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Fig. 8(b) shows that RMS E are about 25 % higher reducing the predicted oxide lifetime by more than a factor of 10 [15]. For a V DD2 larger than 4 V, the difference in P out is ≈ 0.5 dB.…”

Section: A Computed Rms Electric Fieldsmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…During RF operation, the TDDB is proportional to the RMS E applied to the gate oxide [15], [16]. In [15], the devices had similar time to failure when RMS RF and DC stress was compared. Fig.…”

Section: B Reliability Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2(a). However, during RF operation, the Time-Dependent Dielectric Breakdown (TDDB) is proportional to the RMS electric field (E) across the gate oxide [15], [16] and not the peak E. Thus, the capacity of the transistors may not be fully exploited.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Analysis of a 5.5-V Class-D Stage Used in $+$30-dBm Outphasing RF PAs in 130- and 65-nm CMOS

Fritzin

Svensson

Alvandpour

2012

IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst. II

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Abstract-This paper presents the design and analysis of a 5.5 V Class-D stage used in two fully integrated watt-level, +32.0 dBm and +29.7 dBm, outphasing RF Power Amplifiers (PA) in standard 130 nm and 65 nm CMOS technologies. The Class-D stage utilizes a cascode configuration, driven by an AC-coupled low-voltage driver, to allow a 5.5 V supply in the 1.2/2.5 V technologies without excessive device voltage stress. RMS electric fields (E) across the gate oxides and the optimal bias point, where the voltage stress is equally divided between the transistors, are computed. At the optimal bias point, the RMS E, the power dissipation of the parasitic drain capacitance of the common-source transistors, and the equivalent on-resistances are reduced by approximately 25 %, 50 %, and 25 %, compared to a conventional cascode (inverter) stage. To the authors' best knowledge, the Class-D PAs presented are among the first fully integrated CMOS outphasing PAs reaching +30 dBm and demonstrate state-of-the-art output power and bandwidth.

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Section: A Computed Rms Electric Fieldsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: B Reliability Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Analysis of a 5.5-V Class-D Stage Used in $+$30-dBm Outphasing RF PAs in 130- and 65-nm CMOS

Fritzin

Svensson

Alvandpour

2012

IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst. II

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“…The impact of oxide RF stress is not as damaging as DC stress [125]. During RF operation, the TDDB is proportional to the RMS value of the electric field over the gate oxide [126].…”

Section: Pa Reliability Concernsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Watt-Level CMOS RF Power Amplifiers

Johansson

Fritzin

2014

IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Techn.

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Abstract-This paper reviews the design of watt-level integrated CMOS RF power amplifiers (PAs) and state-of-the-art results in the literature. To reach watt-level output power from a single-chip CMOS PA, two main strategies can be identified: use of high supply voltage, and use of matching and power combination. High supply voltage limits are closely related to device design in the fabrication process. However, the maximum operating voltage can be improved by amplifier class selection, circuit solutions, and process modifications or mask changes. High output power can also be reached by the use of on-chip matching and power combination, commonly using on-chip transformers. Reliability often sets the limits for the PA design, and PA degradation mechanisms are reviewed. A compilation of state-of-the-art published results for linear and switched wattlevel PAs, as well as a few fully integrated CMOS PAs, is presented and discussed.

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“…A cascode topology is adopted in a class-E PA to divide the output voltage and decrease gate oxide stress effect [7]- [9]. The cascode topology is better than the noncascode structure due to reduced drain-gate voltage stress on the output transistor.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Verification of RF Stress Effect on Cascode Class-E PA Performance and Reliability

Yuan

Yen

Chen

et al. 2012

IEEE Trans. Device Mater. Relib.

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Abstract-A cascode class-E power amplifier (PA) operating at 5.2 GHz has been designed using Advanced Design System simulation. RF circuit performances such as output power and power-added efficiency before and after RF stress have been experimentally investigated. The measured output power, power-added efficiency, and linearity after high-input-power RF stress at elevated supply voltage show significant circuit degradations. The impact of hot-carrier injection and gate oxide soft breakdown on cascode class-E PA reliability is discussed.Index Terms-Cascode class E, gate oxide breakdown, output power, power amplifier (PA), power efficiency, reliability.

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Oxide Breakdown After RF Stress: Experimental Analysis and Effects on Power Amplifier Operation

Cited by 50 publications

References 21 publications

Analysis of a 5.5-V Class-D Stage Used in $+$30-dBm Outphasing RF PAs in 130- and 65-nm CMOS

Analysis of a 5.5-V Class-D Stage Used in $+$30-dBm Outphasing RF PAs in 130- and 65-nm CMOS

A Review of Watt-Level CMOS RF Power Amplifiers

Experimental Verification of RF Stress Effect on Cascode Class-E PA Performance and Reliability

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