Proceedings Article | 13 March 2023
KEYWORDS: Field effect transistors, Extremely high frequency, Diodes, Semiconductor lasers, Optoelectronics, Light emitting diodes, Transistors, Fin field effect transistors, Avalanche photodetectors, Quantum cascade lasers
Millimeter wave semiconductor devices (Tunnel Diode, GUNN, IMPATT diode, BARITT diode) generate microwaves for a wide range of frequencies. A millimeter wave MOSFET consists of an NMOSFET or FINFET, and a millimeter wave generating diode (an adjustable resistor – in the case of a GUNN diode) in the drain region. The MOSFET and the millimeter wave diode are integrated as one device. When a gate voltage and a drain voltage are applied, the MOSFET is turned on, so as the GUNN diode, which generates RF signals modulated by the high-frequency signals from the gate. If the MOSFET is turned off, the Tunnel Diode / GUNN diode is also off. For an embedded IMPATT or BARITT diode, the millimeter wave device won’t be turned off by the MOSFET, due to the avalanche process, but the output signal is modulated by both the gate and drain voltages. An Optoelectronic or Photonic CMOS field effect transistor includes a built-in laser in either or both of the source and drain regions, or in the well regions (for Depletion-mode CMOS lasers), and multiple photon sensors in the channel or well regions. The MOSFET, lasers, and photon sensors are fabricated as one integral transistor. When the MOSFET is on, the lasers are turned on. When the MOSFET is off, the lasers are off. The Photonic CMOS is light emitting device. Traditional CMOS transistors are not. There are various types of Millimeter wave and Photonic MOSFETs. In this paper, we will explore the advantages of these devices, including improved cutoff frequency (ft or fmax), and signal to noise ratio (S/N) for RF CMOS, and higher Ion / Ioff for RF ASICs. We would also like to look into the possibility of completely replacing the Silicon Photonics, which forms silicon-based IC and lasers separately but on the same wafer- with nonlinear optoelectronic and millimeter wave CMOS, due to improve flexibility, much higher speed, and lower costs.
