Radiofrequency Characteristics of Ionized Sputtered Tantalum Nitride Thin-Film Resistor in CMOS Device

Radiofrequency Characteristics of Ionized Sputtered Tantalum Nitride Thin-Film Resistor in CMOS Device

We report the analysis of the radiofrequency (RF) characteristicsaccording to the size, area, and shape of TaN thin-film resistor (TFR)layers. As the TFR size increased, its characteristics were degradedwith increasing frequency owing to the increased capacitive parasiticcomponents. As the frequency increased from 1 MHz to 10 GHz, theeffective resistance decreased by approximately 12.5%, 16.4%, and37.8% when the resistor widths and lengths were 0.5 × 20, 1 × 40, and2 × 80 μm, respectively. To optimize the performance of the highfrequencyTFR, ensuring RF isolation via sufficient separation fromthe silicon substrates was crucial. To realize this RF isolation,methods for minimizing the effect of lossy Si substrates by usingTFRs with a smaller area or by forming a patterned ground shieldshould be introduced.

We report the analysis of the radiofrequency (RF) characteristicsaccording to the size, area, and shape of TaN thin-film resistor (TFR)layers. As the TFR size increased, its characteristics were degradedwith increasing frequency owing to the increased capacitive parasiticcomponents. As the frequency increased from 1 MHz to 10 GHz, theeffective resistance decreased by approximately 12.5%, 16.4%, and37.8% when the resistor widths and lengths were 0.5 × 20, 1 × 40, and2 × 80 μm, respectively. To optimize the performance of the highfrequencyTFR, ensuring RF isolation via sufficient separation fromthe silicon substrates was crucial. To realize this RF isolation,methods for minimizing the effect of lossy Si substrates by usingTFRs with a smaller area or by forming a patterned ground shieldshould be introduced.