Metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) capacitor with improved linearity

• US 9,716,188 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2013
• Issued: 07/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Vahid Far, Mohammad B., Khalili, Alireza, Chen, Phoebe Peihong, Wang, Cheng-Han
• Primary Examiner(s): Barnie, Rexford
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dhillon, Jagdeep
• Application Number:
  US14/014,827
• Publication Number:
  US 20150061071A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,425 Days
• Field of Search: 307109, 307116, 307 91, 307 66, 307 82, 307 86, 327552, 327553, 327554, 327551, 455307, 333185
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/0805 Capacitors only
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/0811 MIS diodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/94 Metal-insulator-semiconductors, e.g. MOS
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/18 using capacitors or batteries which are alternately charged and discharged, e.g. charged in parallel and discharged in series

Abstract

A MOS capacitor with improved linearity is disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus includes a main branch comprising a first signal path having a first capacitor pair connected in series with reversed polarities and a second signal path having a second capacitor pair connected in series with reversed polarities, the first and second signal paths connected in parallel. The apparatus also includes an auxiliary branch comprising at least one signal path having at least one capacitor pair connected in series with reversed polarities and connected in parallel with the main branch. In an exemplary embodiment, the capacitors are MOS capacitors.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a main branch comprising a first signal path having a first capacitor pair connected in series with first reversed polarities and a second signal path having a second capacitor pair connected in series with second reversed polarities, the first and second signal paths connected in parallel, wherein the first capacitor pair is configured to receive a first bias voltage, and wherein the second capacitor pair is configured to receive a second bias voltage that is different than the first bias voltage; and

an auxiliary branch comprising at least one signal path having at least one capacitor pair connected in series with third reversed polarities and connected in parallel with the main branch, wherein the first capacitor pair, the second capacitor pair, and the at least one capacitor pair are configured to improve linearity of an analog filter.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first and second capacitor pairs comprise first and second metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) capacitor pairs, respectively, and the at least one capacitor pair comprises at least one MOS capacitor pair.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first capacitor pair comprises a first capacitor and a second capacitor, and wherein the first capacitor has a first positive terminal connected to a second positive terminal of the second capacitor.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the second capacitor pair comprises a third capacitor and a fourth capacitor, wherein the third capacitor has a first negative terminal connected to a second negative terminal of the fourth capacitor, and wherein a third positive terminal of the third capacitor is coupled to a third negative terminal of the first capacitor.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one MOS capacitor pair has a capacitance ratio, and wherein each of the first and second MOS capacitor pairs has a capacitance ratio with respect to the at least one MOS capacitor pair.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein positive terminals of the first capacitor pair are configured to receive the first bias voltage, and wherein negative terminals of the second capacitor pair are configured to receive the second bias voltage.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second capacitor pairs has a capacitance ratio with respect to the at least one capacitor pair.

8. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one signal path comprises a third signal path having a third MOS capacitor pair connected in series with the third reversed polarities and a fourth signal path having a fourth MOS capacitor pair connected in series with fourth reversed polarities, the third and fourth signal paths connected in parallel with the main branch.

9. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least one capacitor pair comprises a fifth capacitor and a sixth capacitor, wherein the fifth capacitor has a fourth negative terminal connected to a fifth negative terminal of the sixth capacitor.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first capacitor pair comprises a first capacitor and a second capacitor, wherein the first capacitor has a first terminal coupled to a positive signal terminal and a second terminal coupled to a third terminal of the second capacitor, and wherein the second capacitor has a fourth terminal coupled to a negative signal terminal.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the second capacitor pair has a third capacitor and a fourth capacitor, wherein the third capacitor has a fifth terminal coupled to the positive signal terminal and a sixth terminal coupled to a seventh terminal of the fourth capacitor, and wherein the fourth capacitor has an eighth terminal coupled to the negative signal terminal, wherein the second terminal of the first capacitor and the third terminal of the second capacitor are connected to a first bias resistor.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the second terminal of the third capacitor and the third terminal of the fourth capacitor are connected to a second bias resistor.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first capacitor pair is coupled to a first bias resistor, and wherein the second capacitor pair is coupled to a second bias resistor.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second bias voltage is a negative voltage, and wherein the second bias voltage has a magnitude that is the same as a magnitude of the first bias voltage.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a first orientation of terminals of the first capacitor pair is different than a second orientation of terminals of the second capacitor pair.