학술논문

Contribution of Substrate Harmonic Distortion to GaN-on-Si RF Switches Linearity
Document Type
Periodical
Source
IEEE Microwave and Wireless Technology Letters IEEE Microw. Wireless Tech. Lett. Microwave and Wireless Technology Letters, IEEE. 34(3):298-301 Mar, 2024
Subject
Fields, Waves and Electromagnetics
Substrates
Radio frequency
Coplanar waveguides
Logic gates
Linearity
Performance evaluation
Optical switches
GaN-on-Si HEMTs
harmonic distortion (HD)
RF losses
RF switches
substrate effective resistivity
Language
ISSN
2771-957X
2771-9588
Abstract
We demonstrate high linearity of fully processed GaN on 2-mm high resistivity (HR) Si wafers with high effective resistivity ( $\rho _{\mathbf {eff}} > $ 2 $\text{k}\Omega ~\cdot $ cm). Using two common-gate (MOS-)HEMT devices presenting different levels of distortion as demonstrators, we discuss the impact of substrate-induced harmonic distortion (HD) on RF switches. By comparing switch and CPW line measurements, it is possible to estimate the substrate contribution to HD. For the relatively nonlinear device, the intrinsic device nonlinearities dominate by a 16–20-dB margin over the substrate contribution. For a more linear device (−110 dBc of second harmonic power at 900 MHz and ${P} _{\mathbf {in}}$ = 15 dBm), the substrate distortion contributes equally to channel nonlinearity, highlighting the necessity of engineering the substrate’s RF performance together with the transistor. We provide guidelines for substrate $\rho _{\mathbf {eff}}$ to achieve good switch linearity for given device harmonic levels.