Experimental evaluation of hot electron reliability on differential Clapp-VCO

• Published in: Microelectronics and reliability Vol. 53; no. 2; pp. 254 - 258
• Main Authors: Jang, S.L., Yuan, J.S., Yen, S.D., Kritchanchai, E., Huang, G.W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-02-2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Circuit properties; Circuits; CMOS; Design. Technologies. Operation analysis. Testing; Electric, optical and optoelectronic circuits; Electronic circuits; Electronics; Exact sciences and technology; Hot electrons; Integrated circuits; Oscillations; Oscillators; Oscillators, resonators, synthetizers; Resonators; Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices; Simulation; Voltage controlled oscillators; Phase noise; Electric transformer; Resonator; Voltage controlled oscillator; Oscillation frequency; Implementation; Complementary MOS technology; Hot carrier; Hot electron; Reliability; NMOS technology; Interconnected system; Damaging
• ISSN: 0026-2714; 1872-941X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.microrel.2012.08.004

This paper studies the hot-carrier stressed property of a series-tuned all-n core voltage controlled oscillator (VCO). A differential Clapp-VCO has been successfully implemented in the 0.13m CMOS process and it uses a series-tuned resonator. Two single ended nMOS-core Clapp-VCOs are used to form a differential VCO by the aid of a cross-coupled nMOS pair and a transformer. The measured results show that the fresh Clapp-VCO operates from 18.8 to 22.2GHz and hot-carrier stressed experimental data indicate that the damage increases the oscillation frequency and degrades the phase noise of oscillator. Mixed-mode simulation results are used to show the hot-carrier physics to the circuit.