Channel length influence on the performance of source-follower buffers implemented with graded-channel SOI nMOSFETs

Abstract

This work presents an evaluation of the influence of channel length on the performance of graded-channel (GC) SOI nMOSFETs operating as source-follower buffers. Experimental data is used to compare the buffer gain and linearity of GC and standard SOI nMOS transistors for different mask channel lengths and similar effective channel length. Two-dimensional numerical simulations were also performed, showing that the gain of buffers implemented with GC devices remains close to the theoretical limit even when short-channel devices are used. The simulated results indicate that the length of a source-follower buffer using GC devices can be reduced by a factor of 5, in comparison with the standard counterpart, without gain degradation or linearity worsening. © The Electrochemical Society.