Phase-Change Material RF Switches and Monolithic Integration in 180 nm RF-SOI CMOS Processes

Improvements to the PCM RF switch process and design have resulted in increased OFF-state power handling and cycling endurance. These switches demonstrate less than 12 fs
$R_{ON}{}^{\ast}C_{OFF}$
with 26.5 dBm and 28 dBm ON and OFF-state power handling, respectively, for a single
$10\ \mu \mathrm{m}$
device. The cycling endurance has also been improved, with full wafer endurance tests to 100-million (100M) cycles showing reduced
$R_{ON}$
drift and
$R_{ON}$
variability. Devices cycled 1-billion (1B) times demonstrate similar results, and represent improvements over previous 1B cycle demonstrations. Finally, a new process is presented in which the PCM RF switch is monolithically integrated into a production 180 nm RF-SOI CMOS process optimized for creating PCM switch drivers. The hybrid PCM & RF-SOI switch process includes 2.5 V CMOS, a 5 V PFET, a 200 fs
$R_{ON}{}^{\ast}C_{OFF}$
NFET, MIM caps, poly resistors, RF interconnect, and the PCM RF switch, all integrated on a trap-rich high-resistivity silicon substrate.