On the modeling of LDMOS RF power transistors

In this review we present a technology-independent approach to the construction of a circuit model for a high-power radio-frequency (RF) LDMOS FET. We compare and contrast this approach with other MOSFET modeling approaches used for digital and RF CMOS applications. We describe the structure of our model, the mathematical development of the constitutive relations, and the functions used for their approximation. This model is fully nonlinear, with a self-consistent dynamic electrothermal component, and uses electromagnetic simulations to derive the on-die and in-package components that connect the transistor to the outside world. We also outline some of the characterization and validation measurement challenges that we have overcome in the development of this model.