A Harmonic Radar Tag With High Detection Range Utilizing Ge FinFETs CMOS Technology

This study fabricated and verified a germanium (Ge) fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) on developed GeSOI platform. The Ge FinFETs were demonstrated for radio-frequency (RF) applications with a harmonic radar tag. The relation between the detection range (Rd), received power (Pr), and threshold voltage (Vth) of a diode was qualitatively discussed. To meet the requirement of a low Vth, two kinds of Ge FinFETs with different metal gates were fabricated and compared. After the evaluation of electrical characteristics of n-type and p-type Ge FinFETs with different fin numbers, a tag for harmonic radar was designed by integrating diode-connected TiN gate 1-fin Ge FinFETs (Vth = 0.1 V) with a high impedance antenna. The RF performance was evaluated at 9.4 GHz and 18.8 GHz. The results indicated a 50 % improvement in the Rd as compared to the tag using a commercial Schottky diode. Therefore, the proposed low-Vth Ge FinFET on developed GeSOI platform for complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) is promising for high-sensitivity harmonic radar applications.