DocumentCode :
1408996
Title :
Optically induced measurement anomalies with voltage-tunable analog-control MMIC´s
Author :
Lucyszyn, Stepan ; Robertson, Ian D.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electron. Eng., Surrey Univ., Guildford, UK
Volume :
46
Issue :
8
fYear :
1998
fDate :
8/1/1998 12:00:00 AM
Firstpage :
1105
Lastpage :
1114
Abstract :
Monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC´s) may be measured under relatively high-intensity lighting conditions. Later, when they are packaged, any anomalies found in subsequent measurements could be attributed to unwanted parasitics or box modes associated with the packaging. However, optical effects may not always be considered by radiofrequency (RF) and microwave engineers. For the first time, a qualitative assessment is given for the effects of photonic absorption on three broad-band voltage-tunable analog-control circuits. Each circuit has a different function, with each field-effect transistor (FET) operating in a different mode: a hot FET in a variable-gain amplifier, a cold FET in an analog attenuator, and an FET varactor in an analog phase shifter. All three circuit functions have been implemented using two different FET-based technologies. The first with ion-implanted 0.5-μm GaAs metal-semiconductor FET´s (MESFET´s) in circuits operating at either 3 or 10 GHz. The second employs epitaxially grown 0.25-μm AlGaAs-InGaAs pseudomorphic high electron-mobility transistors (HEMT´s) in circuits operating at 38 GHz. All the MMIC´s were fabricated using commercial foundry processes and illuminated under conventional optical microscope lighting conditions. Prominent error peaks have been found at bias points unique to the three different circuit topologies. Large error peaks are found with the MESFET-based circuits, while much smaller error peaks are achieved with the corresponding pseudomorphic HEMT (pHEMT) based circuits
Keywords :
HEMT integrated circuits; MESFET integrated circuits; MMIC amplifiers; MMIC phase shifters; attenuators; circuit tuning; field effect MIMIC; field effect MMIC; field effect analogue integrated circuits; integrated circuit measurement; millimetre wave amplifiers; millimetre wave phase shifters; wideband amplifiers; 0.25 micron; 0.5 micron; 3 to 10 GHz; 38 GHz; AlGaAs-InGaAs; EHF; FET varactor; FET-based technologies; GaAs; MESFET based circuits; Monolithic microwave integrated circuits; PHEMT based circuits; SHF; analog attenuator; analog phase shifter; bias points; broadband circuits; cold FET; commercial foundry processes; field-effect transistor; high electron-mobility transistors; high-intensity lighting conditions; hot FET; ion-implanted MESFET; monolithic MM-wave ICs; optically induced measurement anomalies; photonic absorption; pseudomorphic HEMT; variable-gain amplifier; voltage-tunable analog-control MMICs; Integrated circuit measurements; Integrated circuit packaging; MESFET circuits; Microwave FETs; Microwave integrated circuits; Optical attenuators; Optical microscopy; PHEMTs; Radio frequency; Voltage;
fLanguage :
English
Journal_Title :
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
Publisher :
ieee
ISSN :
0018-9480
Type :
jour
DOI :
10.1109/22.704953
Filename :
704953
Link To Document :
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