Monitoring Junction Temperature of RF MOSFET under Its Working Condition Using Fiber Bragg Grating

Abstract

When a high-power radio frequency (RF) metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) works in low-efficiency situations, considerable power is dissipated into heat, resulting in an excessive junction temperature and a likely failure. In this study, an optical fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor is installed on the die of a high-power RF MOSFET. The temperature change of RF MOSFET with the change of input signal is obtained by using the temperature frequency shift characteristic of the FBG reflected signal. Furthermore, the fast and repetitive capture of junction temperature by FBG reveals details of the temperature variation within each RF pulse, which is correctly correlated with input signals. The results show that besides monitoring the temperature accumulation of the chip for a long time, the FBG can also capture junction temperature details of the chip within each pulse period. Finally, a Cauer-type thermal model of the RF MOSFET was constructed based on the temperature information captured by the FBG.