A Subcircuit-Based Model for the Accumulation-Mode MOS Capacitor

Abstract

The accumulation-mode metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitor is commonly employed to implement MOS varactors in frequency-tuning circuits for radio frequency (RF) and analog applications. A subcircuit model for the accumulation-mode MOS (AMOS) capacitor based on the Berkeley Short-channel IGFET Model (BSIM) for the MOS field effect transistor (MOSFET) is presented. The proposed model accurately fits the capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics of an AMOS capacitor fabricated in a submicron CMOS process over the full range of operating gate voltages. The model also accounts for the impact of the distributed series resistance on the transient response of the AMOS capacitor. Notably, the gate capacitance and the associated series resistance are modeled as a distributed resistor-capacitor (RC) network to derive a subcircuit-based model with the bias-dependent resistance of the accumulation layer modeled as a voltage-controlled resistor (VCR). The proposed model is evaluated based on SPICE simulation of the intrinsic transient response of the AMOS capacitor using a basic circuit, representing the distributed RC network associated with the MOS device structure. Fine tuning of the effective series resistance in the subcircuit model can be achieved by fitting the measured data characterizing the charge–discharge behavior of the AMOS capacitor to the simulated data characterizing the intrinsic transient response generated by SPICE.