Evaluation of LDMOS transistors for 10 Gbps switched mode applications and X-band power amplifier

In this article we report on the capability of integrated LDMOS transistors for power amplifiers in 10 gigabit per second (Gbps) communication systems, smart power systems and X-band power amplifiers. The switched mode properties of the amplifier were evaluated using a 10.3125 Gbps pseudo random bit error sequence (PRBS) signal. A test mask according to the IEEE P802.3aq 10GBASE-LRM Ethernet standard was applied to evaluate the recorded eye diagram. No single hit was detected in the forbidden test mask regions after measuring 6 million data points. Load-pull measurements at 11 GHz show an operational gain of 16 dB, a maximum power added efficiency (PAE) of 30 % and a maximum drain efficiency (EFF) of 38 %. RF small signal scattering parameters of the LDMOS transistor were measured up to 67 GHz. A cutoff frequency of 27 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency of 61 GHz were extracted. The investigated n-LDMOS transistor is modularly integrated into a 0.25 μm SiGe:C BiCMOS Technology.

[1]  Bernhard Goll,et al.  10 Gbit/s SiGe modulator driver with 37 dB gain and 680 mW power consumption , 2012 .

[2]  László Szilágyi,et al.  A high-voltage DC bias architecture implementation in a 17 Gbps low-power common-cathode VCSEL driver in 80 nm CMOS , 2015, 2015 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS).

[3]  Il-Yong Park,et al.  Implementation of low Vgs (1.8V) 12V RF-LDMOS for high-frequency DC-DC converter applications , 2012, 2012 24th International Symposium on Power Semiconductor Devices and ICs.

[4]  Deog-Kyoon Jeong,et al.  A 10-Gb/s 6-Vpp differential modulator driver in 65-nm CMOS , 2014, 2014 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS).

[5]  A. Hajimiri,et al.  A Breakdown Voltage Multiplier for High Voltage Swing Drivers , 2007, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[6]  B. Senapati,et al.  A low-cost SiGe:C BiCMOS technology with embedded flash memory and complementary LDMOS module , 2005, Proceedings of the Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, 2005..