Variable capacitor with programmability

US6667506B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation · US

Inventors

• Ronald E. Reedy · San Diego, US
• James S. Cable · Del Mar, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 25, 2000
• Grant date: Dec 23, 2003
• Expiry date: Mar 25, 2020

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H10D86/201

Abstract

Multiple variations of a variable capacitor or varactor 10 with built-in programmability; exhibiting high quality, Q, factors; manufactured in a standard CMOS process in silicon on insulator. The cell 10 is manufactured in a standard single polysilicon layer CMOS process applied to silicon on insulator 30 starting substrates. The variable capacitor cell 10 combined with a non-volatile mechanism for programming the tuning range of the varactor 10 results in a varactor 10 which can be tuned and adjusted in an on-chip and purely electronic fashion. The basic variable capacitor cell 10 comprises a floating gate MOS variable capacitor, CMOS, in series with a metal to floating gate fixed capacitor CM/FG.