The detailed analysis of high Q CMOS-compatible microwave spiral inductors in silicon technology

We present the extensive experimental results and their detailed analysis showing the important effects of layout parameters on the frequency responses of quality factor (Q) of rectangular spiral inductors, which are fabricated on a silicon substrate by using conventional silicon CMOS technology, in order to determine the desirable values of layout parameters for designing the high Q inductors used in RF IC's applications. Analysis of the inductors on Si substrates with three kinds of resistivities has been performed by tailoring the geometric layout and varying the metal thickness. Using these results, the substrate effects on RF performance of inductors are also investigated by observing the frequency responses of Q with varying the substrate resistivity in detail.