Devices and methods for improving voltage handling and/or bi-directionality of stacks of elements when connected between terminals

• US 8,604,864 B2
• Filed: 06/18/2010
• Issued: 12/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: pSemi Corporation (Murata Manufacturing Co Limited)
• Original Assignee: Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation (Murata Manufacturing Co Limited)
• Inventors: Ranta, Tero Tapio, Bawell, Shawn, Greene, Robert W., Brindle, Christopher N., Englekirk, Robert Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Donovan, Lincoln
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cole, Brandon S
• Application Number:
  US12/803,133
• Publication Number:
  US 20110001544A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,271 Days
• Field of Search: 327355-361, 327427-437, 455/323, 455/326
• US Class Current: 327/427
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 21/12 discontinuously variable, e.g. tapped
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 4/002 Details
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 7/00 Capacitors in which the capacitance is varied by non-mechanical means; Processes of their manufacture
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/5223 Capacitor integral with wiring layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/0629 in combination with diodes, or resistors, or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1203 the substrate comprising an insulating body on a semiconductor body, e.g. SOI three-dimensional layout H01L27/0688
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 28/60 Electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 11/28 Impedance matching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 7/0153 Electrical filters; Controlling thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 7/38 Impedance-matching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 2200/10 Tuning of a resonator by means of digitally controlled capacitor bank
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 3/20 of single resonant circuit by varying inductance only or capacitance only
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/102 in field-effect transistor switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/162 without feedback from the output circuit to the control circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/687 the devices being field-effect transistors
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 1/1061 using digitally programmable trimming circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 1/804 with charge redistribution

Abstract

Devices and methods for improving voltage handling and/or bi-directionality of stacks of elements when connected between terminals are described. Such devices and method include use of symmetrical compensation capacitances, symmetrical series capacitors, or symmetrical sizing of the elements of the stack.

Claims

1. A method for compensating parasitic capacitances, comprising:

providing a plurality of stacked switches, the stacked switches proceeding from a first switch closest to a first terminal and farthest from a second terminal to an n-th switch farthest from the first terminal and closest to the second terminal, the first terminal being a terminal through which a voltage source is adapted to be coupled to the stacked switches;

sizing the stacked switches so that the first switch has the same size of the n-th switch; and

further sizing the stacked switches so that the i-th switch (i=2, 3, 4, . . . ) has the same size of the (n−

i+1)-th switch,

wherein the sized first and n-th switches are larger than the sized second and (n−

1)-th switches, and so on.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first terminal is an RF terminal and the second terminal is an RF terminal.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

coupling the plurality of stacked switches in series with one or more metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor or metal-metal (MM) capacitor.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second terminal is ground.

3. A method for compensating parasitic capacitances, comprising:

providing a plurality of stacked switches, the stacked switches proceeding from a first switch closest to a first terminal and farthest from a second terminal to an n-th switch farthest from the first terminal and closest to the second terminal, the first terminal being a terminal through which a voltage source is adapted to be coupled to the stacked switches; and

sizing the stacked switches so that the first switch has the same size of the n-th switch,

wherein;

the first terminal is an RF terminal and the second terminal is an RF terminal, and

the plurality of stacked switches is part of a unit cell for a significant bit sub-circuit of a digitally tunable capacitor (DTC), the significant bit sub-circuit being coupled between the first RF terminal and the second RF terminal.

6. A stacked device comprising:

a plurality of stacked switches, the stacked switches proceeding from a first switch closest to a first terminal and farthest from a second terminal to an n-th switch farthest from the first terminal and closest to the second terminal, the first terminal being a terminal through which a voltage source is adapted to be coupled to the stacked switches, the stacked switches being sized such that the first and the n-th switch have the same size and such that the i-th switch (i=2, 3, 4, . . . ) has the same size of the (n−

i+1)-th switch,

wherein the sized first and n-th switches are larger than the sized second and (n−

1)-th switches, and so on.

7. The stacked device of claim 6, wherein the first terminal is an RF terminal and the second terminal is an RF terminal.

8. The stacked device of claim 6, further comprising:

one or more metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor or metal-metal (MM) capacitor coupled in series with the plurality of stacked switches.

9. The stacked device of claim 6, wherein the second terminal is ground.

10. A stacked device comprising:

a plurality of stacked switches, the stacked switches proceeding from a first switch closest to a first terminal and farthest from a second terminal to an n-th switch farthest from the first terminal and closest to the second terminal, the first terminal being a terminal through which a voltage source is adapted to be coupled to the stacked switches, the stacked switches being sized such that the first and the n-th switch have the same size,

wherein;

the first terminal is an RF terminal and the second terminal is an RF terminal, and

the plurality of stacked switches is part of a unit cell for a significant bit sub-circuit of a digitally tunable capacitor (DTC), the significant bit sub-circuit being coupled between the first RF terminal and the second RF terminal.