1.3 Introduction to the Book

With this chapter as an introduction, Chapter 2 provides a detailed look at the MOSFET and the fabrication technology used in its implementation. The chapter begins with a review of some general characteristics of the CMOS fabrication process. The various modes of MOSFET operation are then reviewed, with an emphasis on the development of equivalent circuit models that are beneficial for RF MOSFET simulation. Several simple RF MOSFET circuits are introduced. A number of simulation examples are performed throughout this chapter (and other chapters as well) based on a review of the SPICE simulation package.

Chapter 3 focuses on passive structures in the CMOS process. While some of these passive structures are necessary for RF circuit design (resistors, capacitors, inductors, interconnections), this chapter also looks at the origin of loss mechanisms that are a special problem at high frequencies. An introduction to RF MEMS is followed by a discussion of basic packaging issues and grounding. Several examples of passive element equivalent circuit prediction are performed using a commercial electromagnetic field solver package.

Chapter 4 is a broadly based discussion on CMOS RFIC amplifiers (but not power amplifiers). Basic concepts of amplifiers such as equivalent circuits, biasing, and impedance matching are presented. A thorough discussion of LNAs is presented to show how the MOSFET's construction can be used to reduce the noise introduced into the system. A number of single-ended and differential amplifier circuit topologies are introduced and analyzed.

Chapter 5 builds on the concepts introduced...