A study of impacts of ESD protection on 28/38GHz RF switches in 45nm SOI CMOS for 5G mobile applications

Abstract

This paper reports the first study of impacts of on-chip electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection on 28GHz/ 38GHz RF switches designed in a 45nm SOI CMOS for 5th generation mobile networks (5G) mobile applications. Single-pole-double-throw (SPDT) switches with 5-diode diode-string and silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) ESD protection structures were fabricated and characterized. Measurement and analysis reveal serious influences of ESD-induced parasitic effects on SPDT insertion loss and isolation.