Design and Analysis of a 28GHz 9KV ESD-Protected Distributed Travelling-Wave TRx Switch in 22nm FDSOI

This paper presents design and analysis of a 28GHz broadband single-pole double-throw (SPDT) distributed travelling-wave radio-frequency (RF) switch designed in a foundry 22nm fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator (FDSOI) CMOS technology. The 28GHz SPDT transmitter-receiver (TRx) switch covers the n257 and n258 bands of the fifth-generation (5G) mobile wireless systems. Measurements show compatible switch performance to similar millimeter-wave (mm-wave) RF switches of various topologies designed in compound semiconductor high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) and Si bulk CMOS technologies. The SPDT switches achieve the highest reported 9KV ESD protection in measurements. It reveals that the ESD-induced parasitic effects have substantial impacts on mm-wave broadband RF switches. Careful ESD-RFIC co-design is suggested for designing 5G RF switches in above-6GHz bands.