MICROX-an all-silicon technology for monolithic microwave integrated circuits

Abstract

An improved silicon-on-insulator (SOI) approach offers devices and circuits operating to 10 GHz by providing formerly unattainable capabilities in bulk silicon: reduced junction-to-substrate capacitances in FETs and bipolar transistors, inherent electrical isolation between devices, and low-loss microstrip lines. The concept, called MICROX (patent pending), is based on the SIMOX process, but uses very-high-resistivity (typically>10000 Omega -cm) silicon substrates, MICROX NMOS transistors of effective gate length 0.25 mu m give a maximum frequency of operation, f/sub max/, of 32 GHz and f/sub T/ of 23.6 GHz in large-periphery (4 mu m*50 mu m) devices with no correction for the parasitic effects of the pads. The measured minimum noise figure is 1.5 dB at 2 GHz with associated gain of 17.5 dB, an improvement over previously reported values for silicon FETs.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>