RADIO-FREQUENCY SWITCH HAVING DYNAMIC GATE BIAS RESISTANCE, BODY CONTACT, AND COMPENSATION CIRCUIT

• US 20170346482A1
• Filed: 03/13/2017
• Published: 11/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Skyworks Solutions Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Skyworks Solutions Incorporated
• Inventors: CEBI, Haki, ALTUNKILIC, Fikret, SRIRATTANA, Nuttapong
• Granted Patent: US 9,935,627 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/8234 MIS technology , i.e. integration processes of field effect transistors of the conductor-insulator-semiconductor type
• 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: H03K 17/161 in field-effect transistor switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/693 Switching arrangements with several input- or output-terminals, e.g. multiplexers, distributors logic circuits H03K19/00; code converters H03M5/00, H03M7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/0018 Special modifications or use of the back gate voltage of a FET

Abstract

Radio-frequency (RF) switch circuits having switchable transistor coupling for improved switching performance. An RF switch system includes at least one field-effect transistor (FET) disposed between first and second nodes, each FET having a gate and body. A switchable resistive coupling circuit is connected to each of the respective gates. A switchable resistive grounding circuit is connected to each of the respective bodies. The RF switch system also includes a compensation circuit to compensate a non-linearity effect generated by at least one of the field-effect transistors.

Claims

1. A radio-frequency (RF) switch comprising:

a plurality of field-effect transistors (FETs) disposed between a first node and a second node, each of the plurality of field-effect transistors having a respective source, drain, gate, and body, the plurality of field-effect transistors including a first field-effect transistor connected in series with a second field-effect transistor;

a switchable resistive coupling circuit connected to each of the respective gates;

a switchable resistive grounding circuit connected to each of the respective bodies; and

a compensation circuit connected at a first end to both the source of the first field-effect transistor and the drain of the second field-effect transistor, and further connected at a second end to a ground reference, the compensation circuit configured to compensate a non-linearity effect generated by at least one of the plurality of field-effect transistors.

2. The radio-frequency switch of claim 1 wherein the field-effect transistor is a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) field-effect transistor.

3. The radio-frequency switch of claim 1 wherein the switchable resistive coupling circuit includes a bias resistor in series with a first coupling switch.

4. The radio-frequency switch of claim 3 wherein the switchable resistive grounding circuit includes a body resistor in series with a second coupling switch.

5. The radio-frequency switch of claim 3 wherein each of the first and second coupling switches is OFF when the field-effect transistor is ON to yield a reduced insertion loss by floating the body and the gate.

6. The radio-frequency switch of claim 5 wherein each of the first and second coupling switches is ON when the field-effect transistor is OFF to yield a ground bias to the body and a radio-frequency ground to the gate, to thereby improve isolation performance of the radio-frequency switch.

7. The radio-frequency switch of claim 1 wherein the compensation circuit includes a non-linear capacitor.

8. The radio-frequency switch of claim 7 wherein the non-linear capacitor includes a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitor.

9. The radio-frequency switch of claim 8 wherein the oxide-semiconductor capacitor is configured to generate one or more harmonics to substantially cancel the non-linearity effect generated by the field-effect transistor.

10. The radio-frequency switch of claim 9 wherein the oxide-semiconductor capacitor includes an field-effect transistor structure.

11. The radio-frequency switch of claim 10 wherein the one or more harmonics generated by the oxide-semiconductor capacitor is controlled at least in part by a body bias signal provided to the field-effect transistor structure of the oxide-semiconductor capacitor.

12. The radio-frequency switch of claim 1 wherein the first node is configured to receive a radio-frequency signal having a power value and the second node is configured to output the radio-frequency signal when the field-effect transistor is in an ON state.

13. The radio-frequency switch of claim 12 wherein the at least one field-effect transistor includes N field-effect transistors connected in series, the quantity N selected to allow the switch circuit to handle the power of the radio-frequency signal.

14. (canceled)

15. A semiconductor die comprising:

a semiconductor substrate;

a plurality of field-effect transistors (FETs) formed on the semiconductor substrate, each of the plurality of field-effect transistors having a respective source, drain, gate, and body, the plurality of field-effect transistors including a first field-effect transistor connected in series with a second field-effect transistor;

a coupling circuit including a switchable resistive circuit connected to a respective gate of each of the plurality of field-effect transistors, the coupling circuit further including a switchable resistive grounding circuit connected to a respective body of each of the plurality of field-effect transistors; and

a compensation circuit connected at a first end to both the source of a first field-effect transistor and the drain of a second field-effect transistor, and further connected at a second end to a ground reference, the compensation circuit configured to compensate a non-linearity effect generated by at least one of the plurality of field-effect transistors.

16. The die of claim 15 further comprising an insulator layer disposed between the field-effect transistor and the semiconductor substrate.

17. The die of claim 16 wherein the die is a silicon-on-insulator die.

18. (canceled)

19. (canceled)

20. A radio-frequency (RF) switch module comprising:

a packaging substrate configured to receive a plurality of components;

a semiconductor die mounted on the packaging substrate, the die including a plurality of field-effect transistors (FETs) disposed between a first node and a second node, each of the plurality of field-effect transistors having a respective source, drain, gate, and body, the plurality of field-effect transistors including a first field-effect transistor connected in series with a second field-effect transistor;

a coupling circuit including a switchable resistive circuit connected to a respective gate of each of the plurality of field-effect transistors, the coupling circuit further including a switchable resistive grounding circuit connected to a respective body of each of the plurality of field-effect transistors; and

a compensation circuit connected at a first end to both the source of a first field-effect transistor and the drain of a second field-effect transistor, and further connected at a second end to a ground reference, the compensation circuit configured to compensate a non-linearity effect generated by at least one of the plurality of field-effect transistors.

21. The radio-frequency switch module of claim 20 wherein the switchable resistive coupling circuit includes a bias resistor in series with a first coupling switch.

22. The radio-frequency switch module of claim 20 wherein the compensation circuit includes a non-linear capacitor.

23. The radio-frequency switch module of claim 20 wherein the first node is configured to receive a radio-frequency signal having a power value and the second node is configured to output the radio-frequency signal when the field-effect transistor is in an ON state.