High voltage SOI MESFETs at the 45nm technology node

Depletion mode, n-channel MESFETs have been fabricated at a commercial 45nm SOI CMOS foundry without changing any of the process flow or including additional mask steps. 45nm represents the most scaled technology node used to date for MESFET fabrication and was first introduced in [1]. The work presented here builds upon those results and introduces a slightly altered MESFET structure which enhances the voltage capability to >20V and improves its lifetime reliability. Current drives of >65mA/mm have been observed along with a peak cut-off frequency, f
T
, of 27GHz and maximum oscillation frequency, fmax, of 33GHz.