Record RF performance of 45-mn SOICMOS technology

We report record RF performance in 45-nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) CMOS technology. RF performance scaling with channel length and layout optimization is demonstrated. Peak f(T)'s of 485 GHz and 345 GHz are measured in floating-body NFET and PFET with nearby wiring parasitics (i.e., gate-to-contact capacitance) included after de-embedding, thus representing FET performance in a real design. The measured fT's are the highest ever reported in a CMOS technology. Body-contacted FETs are also analyzed that have layout optimized for high-frequency analog applications. Employing a notched body contact layout, we reduce parasitic capacitance and gate leakage current significantly, thus improving RF performance with low power. For longer than minimum channel length and a body-contacted NFET with notched layout, we measure a peak f(T) of 245 GHz with no degradation in critical analog figures of merit, such as self-gain.