A new method to achieve RF linearity in SOI nanowire MOSFETs

Our experiments show that linearity can be achieved if transistors are designed to operate in the one-dimensional ballistic transport regime in the quantum capacitance limit. We report third order intercept points (IIP3) of around -13dBm at maximum transconductance under these particular transport and device operation conditions, meeting the requirements for state-of-the-art mobile communication systems. The advantage of our approach becomes most apparent when normalizing the IIP3 values with power at maximum transconductance. In this case we were able to show that more than 10dB improvement over devices operating in the velocity saturation regime is achieved. Our findings make our approach an excellent candidate for low power applications in the early stages of RF receivers when linearity is critical.