Design of BiCMOS RFIC based on EM and SPICE co-simulators

Using EM (electromagnetic) and SPICE (simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis) co-simulator, design accuracy can be improved. In order to evaluate EM simulator, the on-chip spiral inductors are prepared and measured, whereas the measurement results were compared with the SPICE model and EM simulation results. Experimental results of the inductance of the spiral inductor are consistent with that of the EM simulation. It was shown that the passive element can be designed using the EM simulator. A coplanar waveguide (CPW) type impedance matching circuit designed via EM simulator is given. The design of the 0.35 μm SiGe BiCMOS (TSMC) 5 GHz band power amplifier (PA) was completed using EM and SPICE co-simulation.