Evaluation of package and technology effects on substrate-crosstalk isolation in CMOS RFIC

Xavier Aragones; Diego Mateo; Olga Boric-Lubecke

doi:10.1117/12.499031

21 April 2003 Evaluation of package and technology effects on substrate-crosstalk isolation in CMOS RFIC

Xavier Aragones, Diego Mateo, Olga Boric-Lubecke

Proceedings Volume 5117, VLSI Circuits and Systems; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.499031
Event: Microtechnologies for the New Millennium 2003, 2003, Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain

Abstract

Crosstalk propagating through the silicon substrate is a serious limiting factor on the performance of advanced mixed analog-digital CMOS integrated circuits. This problem also appears in RF chips in the form of power leakage from local oscillators or power amplifiers, as well as the noise coupled from the digital baseband circuitry. Several studies have presented measurements on simple test structures to determine the best approach to minimize this leakage. Nevertheless, these studies are usually restricted to a single technology, and the consequences of applying results to other technologies are not evaluated. Also, these studies are usually performed with on-wafer samples, and thus package effects are not taken into account. However, package parasitics are an important factor in the substrate crosstalk, since they determine how much of the leakage finds a return path to external ground. In this paper, we discuss different technological approaches to increase isolation between coupled circuits. Measurements of the isolation on some test structures fabricated in a CMOS RF technology are presented. The package parasitics effect is evaluated by comparing on-wafer vs packaged samples. Measurement results are complemented with simulations of a broader range of situations.

Citation Download Citation

Xavier Aragones, Diego Mateo, and Olga Boric-Lubecke "Evaluation of package and technology effects on substrate-crosstalk isolation in CMOS RFIC", Proc. SPIE 5117, VLSI Circuits and Systems, (21 April 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.499031

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available