Choshu Ito's Work

Postdoctoral Research:

Development of fast model extraction methodology for RF power amplifier devices

Traditionally, the development of RF power amplifiers relied primarily on measurements for verification of designs. This is due to the fact that the metrics used to characterize RF power amplifier performance are difficult to obtain through other methods. This work circumvents the fabrication step by generating circuit models from device simulation.

Analysis and minimization of distortion in RF power amplifiers

Due to the narrow bandwidths seen in spectrum allocation for wireless communications, linearity is a very important characteristic for RF power amplifiers. This work identifies the dominant causes of distortion, especially the third order intermodulation distortion, and demonstrates methods to minimize this distortion.

Design of CMOS low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) for wireless communications with ESD protection

An ESD/RF co-design methodology is being developed to facilitate better ESD designs for use in RF systems. With a UMTS LNA as a test vehicle, the effect of ESD protection on the LNA performance will be quantified, and guidelines to minimize this effect will be presented.

Development of SiGe models for device simulation

With increased use of SiGe in high-speed devices, the importance of accurate device simulation for SiGe is also increasing. This work calibrates the SiGe model for a buried-channel strained-SiGe p-MOSFET, and its noise characteristics will be investigated.

Graduate Research:

Investigation of device size effects in RF power amplifier systems

As device size (channel width) of an RF power amplifier device increases, the output power available per unit width decreases. This phenomenon is explained through development of an electromagnetic model, and circuitry was developed to remedy the decreased performance.

Design of ESD protection systems for RF and high-speed digital applictions

For systems operating at high frequencies, the capacitive loading caused by ESD protection systems causes unacceptable performance degradation. By applying distributed ESD protection, it was shown that the effect on the signal under normal operation could be minimized.

Development of bidirectional substrate noise models for mixed-signal applications

In mixed-signal applications, the analog sub-systems are affected by substrate noise generated by the digital sub-systems. The goal of this project is to develop a compact model for the substrate which may be used not only as an analysis tool, but also as a design tool to minimize the effect of substrate noise on sensitive systems.

Publications:

C. Ito, K. Banerjee, and R. W. Dutton, "Analysis and Design of ESD Protection Circuits for High-Frequency/RF Applications," Proc. ISQED, 2001, pp. 117-122.

C. Ito, K. Banerjee, and R. W. Dutton, "Analysis and Optimization of Distributed ESD Protection Circuits for High-Speed Mixed-Signal and RF Applications," Proc. EOS/ESD Symp., 2001, pp. 355-363.

C. Ito, K. Banerjee, and R. W. Dutton, "Analysis and Design of Distributed ESD Protection Circuits for High-Speed Mixed-Signal and RF ICs," Trans. Electron Devices, vol. 49, no. 8, pp. 1444-1454, 2002.

C. Ito, T. Fujioka, I. Yoshida, R. W. Dutton, "Performance Improvement in Larger RF LDMOSFET Power Amplifiers," Proc. Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference, 2002.

C. Ito, "Analysis, Design, and Optimization of Integrated High-Current Devices in High-Speed and Radio-Frequency Semiconductor Systems," Ph.D. Dissertation, Stanford University, 2003.


Choshu Ito
CISX 305
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305

Last modified: April 18 23:20:49 PDT 2004