RF CMOS Assumes Wireless Data ICs Center Stage

In the past, implementing transmitters and receivers at RF frequencies required unique and costly technologies such as SiGe BiCMOS and GaAs processes.

Cost advantage, RF performance improvement and integration considerations now make CMOS a relevant and attractive technology for RF ICs implementation. Progress made in CMOS technology during the last decade, coupled with consistent efforts to adapt CMOS to analog and RF design, drove CMOS to become the technology of choice for RFIC implementation.

Fabless companies can now accomplish the high frequency performance objectives of their new products by using RF-CMOS technology, thereby exploiting all basic Logic CMOS advantages and incurring only minimal additional enhancements that are required for optimal RF implementation.