Modeling of Semiconductor Substrates for RF Applications: Part II - Parameter Impact on Harmonic Distortion

Abstract

This article presents the accurate modeling results of the nonlinear behavior of a wide range of silicon-based substrates at RF. The TCAD-based model includes carrier inertia effects and captures the transient nonequilibrium phenomena in the semiconductor substrate regions in response to a large-amplitude RF signal. The model is applied to coplanar waveguide (CPW) lines measured on 19 different silicon-based samples that have key differences in their material and interface parameters, such as different values for nominal doping, interface oxide charge, the presence or not of a trap-rich passivation layer, and characteristic dimensions. Furthermore, the CPW line's distortion levels are measured from 25 °C up to 175 °C and at five fundamental frequencies under large-signal excitation from 50 MHz to 5.4 GHz. An excellent model to experiment correlation is achieved under all of these conditions, and the impact of the material and excitation parameters are discussed with strong physical insight provided by the simulation tool.