Statistical forecasting algorithm on circuit level gain transformation due to negative bias temperature instability for the microwave frequency spectrum

Abstract

Negative Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI) is a critical reliability issue for CMOS technology, as this directly impacts the CMOS circuit performance parameters causing system failure. Moreover, NBTI behavior for radio frequency (RF) signals needs more understanding. On the device level, there has been much research on the relation between NBTI and RF. Many of those works contradict each other on the question of RF dependency with NBTI. Hence, the behavior of NBTI must be analyzed at the circuit level using a prediction technique. In this article, we analyzed the circuit level impact of NBTI for microwave frequency and developed a gain transformation technique for RF circuits in the microwave frequency range. To do this, we employed a 65 nm conventional ring oscillator as an RF block and carried out an aging simulation on it. A compatibility analysis was performed on low and high bandwidth microwave signals. The implemented statistical technique can determine the actual operable frequency range, so that the RF circuit can perform with minimal NBTI effect.