RF passives for a 0.25 μm digital CMOS process

The integration of RF transceivers in digital CMOS processes has been propelled by the potential lower costs that can be achieved with CMOS. However, some issues must be addressed for the successful integration of RF in CMOS since this manufacturing technology has been optimized for digital applications. In this paper, the different implementations employed in the successful integration spiral inductors and capacitors in CMOS for RF operation will be discussed and various RF passive implementations that lead to higher Qs will be identified. Inductors and capacitors presented in this paper were fabricated in a 0.25 mum digital CMOS process.