Effect of the voltage dependency of the device-level gate-source capacitance in the linearity of a common-gate amplifier

Most work on amplifier linearity has focused on the transconductance (gm) linearity, but there is increasing evidence that the voltage-dependence of the gate-source capacitance (Cgs) plays an important role in the linearity of emerging devices. This work addresses the capacitance contribution by incorporating the nonlinearities attributed to the voltage dependency of Cgs of a general FET on a circuit-level Cg amplifier model.

An amplifier model including a voltage-dependent Cgs, and a voltage-dependent gm is studied using harmonic analysis and Volterra series. A closed form expression for the  third-order intercept point (IP3) of the amplifier, which depends on the nonlinear coefficients of Cgs, is obtained. A simple design rule, and a formula for the reduction of the IP3 due to the voltage-dependent Cgs are also presented. 

As application examples, the linearity of an amplifier based on a specific device is analyzed for two cases by extracting the nonlinear circuit parameters of the device. First for an analytic model of a bulk mosfet. Second for a one-dimensional, ballistic, coaxially gated Si nanowire. For low frequencies of design, the distortion introduced by gm is predominant, but for high frequencies it is obscured by the distortion coming from Cgs.

We conclude that taking into account the voltage-dependence of Cgs is crucial when predicting the linearity behavior of a Cg amplifier, either designed for high-frequency operation, or based on a device operating near the quantum capacitance limit.