SWITCH BODY CONNECTIONS TO ACHIEVE SOFT BREAKDOWN

1 . A field-effect transistor (FET) comprising:

an assembly of source, gate, and drain implemented on an active region;

a first body contact implemented at a first end of the assembly; and

a second body contact implemented at a second end of the assembly, the second end distal from the first end along a width of the field-effect transistor.

2 . The field-effect transistor of claim 1 wherein the first body contact and the second body contact are positioned substantially symmetrically about a center line of the field-effect transistor.

3 . The field-effect transistor of claim 1 wherein the first body contact and the second body contact are coupled to a diode.

4 . The field-effect transistor of claim 3 wherein the diode is a P-N junction diode.

5 . The field-effect transistor of claim 3 wherein the diode is a PMOS field-effect transistor.

6 . The field-effect transistor of claim 1 wherein the field-effect transistor includes a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate.

7 . The field-effect transistor of claim 1 wherein the active region is substantially the same size as an active region of a similar field-effect transistor including a single body contact.

8 . The field-effect transistor of claim 1 wherein each of the source, gate, and drain of the assembly is implemented in a finger configuration with gate fingers extending in a direction such that the first body contact is implemented proximate to a first end of a gate finger and the second body contact is implemented proximate to a second end of the gate finger along the direction of extension of the gate fingers.

9 . The field-effect transistor of claim 8 wherein the finger configuration of each of the first and second assemblies results in source and drain fingers being interleaved with the gate fingers.

10 . The field-effect transistor of claim 9 wherein the source fingers and the drain fingers are arranged in alternating rows.

11 . The field-effect transistor of claim 1 wherein the second body contact is implemented to reduce a body effect on the field-effect transistor.

12 . The field-effect transistor of claim 1 wherein the second body contact is implemented to improve linearity of the field-effect transistor.

13 . The field-effect transistor of claim 1 wherein the second body contact is implemented to improve breakdown behavior of the field-effect transistor.

14 . A radio-frequency (RF) module comprising:

a packaging substrate configured to receive a plurality of devices; and

a die mounted on the packaging substrate, the die including a field-effect transistor (FET) having an assembly of source, gate, and drain implemented on an active region, the field-effect transistor further including a first body contact implemented at a first end of the assembly and a second body contact implemented at a second end of the assembly, the second end distal from the first end along a width of the field-effect transistor.

15 . The radio-frequency module of claim 14 wherein the radio-frequency module is a switch module.

16 . The radio-frequency module of claim 14 wherein the die is a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) die.

17 . A wireless device comprising:

a transceiver configured to process radio-frequency (RF) signals;

a radio-frequency module in communication with the transceiver, the radio-frequency module including a switching device having a field-effect transistor (FET), the field-effect transistor including an assembly of source, gate, and drain implemented on an active region, the field-effect transistor further including a first body contact implemented at a first end of the assembly and a second body contact implemented at a second end of the assembly, the second end distal from the first end along a width of the field-effect transistor; and

an antenna in communication with the radio-frequency module, the antenna configured to facilitate transmitting and/or receiving of the radio-frequency signals.

18 . The wireless device of claim 17 wherein the radio-frequency module is a switch module.