Advantages of graded-channel SOI nMOSFETs for application as source-follower analog buffer

Abstract

In this work the performance of graded-channel (GC) SOI MOSFETs operating as source-follower buffers is presented. The experimental analysis is performed by comparing the gain and linearity of buffers implemented with GC and standard SOI MOS devices considering the same mask dimensions. It is shown that by using GC devices, buffer gain very close to the theoretical limit can be achieved, with improved linearity, while for standard devices the gain departs from the theoretical value depending on the inversion level imposed by the bias current and input voltage. Two-dimensional numerical simulations were performed in order to confirm some hypotheses proposed to explain the gain behavior observed in the experimental data. By using numerical simulations the channel length has been varied, showing that the gain of buffers implemented with GC devices remains close to the theoretical limit even when short-channel devices are adopted. It has also been shown that the length of a source-follower buffer using GC devices can be reduced by a factor of 5, in comparison with a standard SOI MOSFET, without gain loss or linearity degradation. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.