SILICON-GERMANIUM HETEROJUNCTION BIPOLAR TRANSISTORS FOR LARGE-SCALE LOW-POWER CRYOGENIC SENSING SYSTEMS

Cryogenic low noise amplifiers (LNAs) are one of the key components in many emerging applications such as radio astronomy or quantum computing in which a weak incoming signal needs to be read out. There have been extensive studies on the feasibility of leveraging silicon-germanium (SiGe) heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) to implement cryogenic LNAs in the past. The deployment of such LNAs in the future large-scale systems in radio astronomy or quantum computing is contingent upon the possibility of developing LNAs with reduced DC power dissipation to enable the cooling of a large number of array elements inside a cryogenic cooler. In this dissertation, we focus on the cryogenic operation of SiGe HBTs at reduced supply voltages for the implementation of ultra low- power LNAs and their applications for scalable receiver systems. In addition, the limitations of the SiGe HBT cryogenic models for the operation at high current densities are investigated for the implementation of modern high speed SiGe HBT circuits

Survey of Photonic and Plasmonic Interconnect Technologies for Intra-Datacenter and High-Performance Computing Communications

Large scale data centers (DC) and high performance computing (HPC) systems require more and more computing power at higher energy efficiency. They are already consuming megawatts of power, and a linear extrapolation of trends reveals that they may eventually lead to unrealistic power consumption scenarios in order to satisfy future requirements (e.g., Exascale computing). Conventional complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-based electronic interconnects are not expected to keep up with the envisioned future board-to-board and chip-to-chip (within multi-chip-modules) interconnect requirements because of bandwidth-density and power-consumption limitations. However, low-power and high-speed optics-based interconnects are emerging as alternatives for DC and HPC communications; they offer unique opportunities for continued energy-efficiency and bandwidth-density improvements, although cost is a challenge at the shortest length scales. Plasmonics-based interconnects on the other hand, due to their extremely small size, offer another interesting solution for further scaling operational speed and energy efficiency. At the device-level, CMOS compatibility is also an important issue, since ultimately photonics or plasmonics will have to be co-integrated with electronics. In this paper, we survey the available literature and compare the aforementioned interconnect technologies, with respect to their suitability for high-speed and energy-efficient on-chip and offchip communications. This paper refers to relatively short links with potential applications in the following interconnect distance hierarchy: local group of racks, board to board, module to module, chip to chip, and on chip connections. We compare different interconnect device modules, including low-energy output devices (such as lasers, modulators, and LEDs), photodetectors, passive devices (i.e., waveguides and couplers) and electrical circuitry (such as laserdiode drivers, modulator drivers, transimpedance, and limiting amplifiers). We show that photonic technologies have the potential to meet the requirements for selected HPC and DC applications in a shorter term. We also present that plasmonic interconnect modules could offer ultra-compact active areas, leading to high integration bandwidth densities, and low device capacitances allowing for ultra-high bandwidth operation that would satisfy the application requirements further into the future

Analysis and Design of a Sub-THz Ultra-Wideband Phased-Array Transmitter

This thesis investigates circuits and systems for broadband high datarate transmitter systems in the millimeter-wave (mm-wave) spectrum. During the course of this dissertation, the design process and characterization of a power efficient and wideband binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) transmitter integrated circuit (IC) with local oscillator (LO) frequency multiplication and 360° phase control for beam steering is studied. All required circuit blocks are designed based on the theoretical analysis of the underlying principles, optimized, fabricated and characterized in the research laboratory targeting low power consumption, high efficiency and broadband operation. The phase-controlled push-push (PCPP) architecture enabling frequency multiplication by four in a single stage is analytically studied and characterized finding an optimum between output power and second harmonic suppression depending on the input amplitude. A PCPP based LO chain is designed. A circuit is fabricated establishing the feasibility of this architecture for operation at more than 200 GHz. Building on this, a second circuit is designed, which produces among the highest saturated output powers at 2 dBm. At less than 100 mW of direct current (DC) power consumption, this results in a power-added efficiency (PAE) of 1.6 % improving the state of the art by almost 30 %. Phase-delayed and time-delayed approaches to beam steering are analyzed, identifying and discussing design challenges like area consumption, signal attenuation and beam squint. A 60 GHz active vector-sum phase-shifter with high gain of 11.3 dB and output power of 5 dBm, improving the PAE of the state of the art by a factor of 30 achieving 6.29 %, is designed. The high gain is possible due to an optimization of the orthogonal signal creation stage enabled by studying and comparing different architectures leading to a trade off of lower signal attenuation for higher area consumption in the chosen electromagnetic coupler. By combining this with a frequency quadrupler, a phase steering enabled LO chain for operation at 220 GHz is created and characterized, confirming the preceding analysis of the phase-frequency relation during multiplication. It achieves a power gain of 21 dB, outperforming comparable designs by 25 dB. This allows the combination of phase control, frequency multiplication and pre-amplification. The radio frequency (RF) efficiency is increased 40-fold to 0.99 %, with a total power consumption of 105 mW. Motivated by the distorting effect of beam squint in phase-delayed broadband array systems, a novel analog hybrid beam steering architecture is devised, combining phase-delayed and time-delayed steering with the goal of reducing the beam squint of phase-delayed systems and large area consumption of time-delayed circuits. An analytical design procedure is presented leading to the research finding of a beam squint reduction potential of more than 83 % in an ideal system. Here, the increase in area consumption is outweighed by the reduction in beam squint. An IC with a low power consumption of 4.3 mW has been fabricated and characterized featuring the first time delay circuit operating at above 200 GHz. By producing most of the beam direction by means of time delay the beam squinting can be reduced by more than 75 % in measurements while the subsequent phase shifter ensures continuous beam direction control. Together, the required silicon area can be reduced to 43 % compared to timedelayed systems in the same frequency range. Based on studies of the optimum signal feeding and input matching of a Gilbert cell, an ultra-wideband, low-power mixer was designed. A bandwidth of more than 100 GHz was achieved exceeding the state of the art by 23 %. With a conversion gain of –13 dB, this enables datarates of more than 100 Gbps in BPSK operation. The findings are consolidated in an integrated transmitter operating around 246 GHz doubling the highest published measured datarates of transmitters with LO chain and power amplifier in BPSK operation to 56 Gbps. The resulting transmitter efficiency of 7.4 pJ/bit improves the state of the art by 70 % and 50 % over BPSK and quadrature phaseshift keying (QPSK) systems, respectively. Together, the results of this work form the basis for low-power and efficient next-generation wireless applications operating at many times the datarates available today.:Abstract 3 Zusammenfassung 5 List of Symbols 11 List of Acronyms 17 Prior Publications 19 1. Introduction 21 1.1. Motivation........................... 21 1.2. Objective of this Thesis ................... 25 1.3. Structure of this Thesis ................... 27 2. Overview of Employed Technologies and Techniques 29 2.1. IntegratedCircuitTechnology................ 29 2.2. Transmission Lines and Passive Structures . . . . . . . . 35 2.3. DigitalModulation ...................... 41 3. Frequency Quadrupler 45 3.1. Theoretical Analysis of Frequency Multiplication Circuits 45 3.2. Phase-Controlled Push-Push Principle for Frequency Quadrupling.......................... 49 3.3. Stand-alone Phase-Controlled Push-Push Quadrupler . 60 3.4. Phase-Controlled Push-Push Quadrupler based LO-chain with High Output Power ............... 72 9 4. Array Systems and Dynamic Beam Steering 91 4.1. Theoretical Analysis of BeamSteering. . . . . . . . . . . 95 4.2. Local Oscillator Phase Shifting with Vector-Modulator PhaseShifters......................... 107 4.3. Hybrid True-Time and Phase-Delayed Beam Steering . 131 5. Ultra-Wide Band Modulator for BPSK Operation 155 6. Broadband BPSK Transmitter System for Datarates up to 56 Gbps 167 6.1. System Architecture ..................... 168 6.2. Measurement Technique and Results . . . . . . . . . . . 171 6.3. Summary and performance comparison . . . . . . . . . 185 7. Conclusion and Outlook 189 A. Appendix 195 Bibliography 199 List of Figures 227 Note of Thanks 239 Curriculum Vitae 241Diese Dissertation untersucht Schaltungen und Systeme für breitbandige Transmittersysteme mit hoher Datenrate im Millimeterwellen (mm-wave) Spektrum. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit werden der Entwurfsprozess und die Charakterisierung eines leistungseffizienten und breitbandigen integrierten Senders basierend auf binärer Phasenumtastung (BPSK) mit Frequenzvervielfachung des Lokaloszillatorsignals und 360°-Phasenkontrolle zur Strahlsteuerung untersucht. Alle erforderlichen Schaltungsblöcke werden auf Grundlage von theoretischen Analysen der zugrundeliegenden Prinzipien entworfen, optimiert, hergestellt und im Forschungslabor charakterisiert, mit den Zielen einer niedrigen Leistungsaufnahme, eines hohen Wirkungsgrades und einer möglichst großen Bandbreite. Die phasengesteuerte Push-Push (PCPP)-Architektur, welche eine Frequenzvervierfachung in einer einzigen Stufe ermöglicht, wird analytisch untersucht und charakterisiert. Dabei wird ein Optimum zwischen Ausgangsleistung und Unterdrückung der zweiten Harmonischen des Eingangssignals in Abhängigkeit von der Eingangsamplitude gefunden. Es wird eine LO-Kette auf PCPP-Basis entworfen. Eine Schaltung wird präsentiert, die die Machbarkeit dieser Architektur für den Betrieb bei mehr als 200 GHz nachweist. Darauf aufbauend wird eine zweite Schaltung entworfen, die mit 2 dBm eine der höchsten publizierten gesättigten Ausgangsleistungen erzeugt. Mit einer Leistungsaufnahme von weniger als 100mW ergibt sich ein Leistungswirkungsgrad (PAE) von 1.6 %, was den Stand der Technik um fast 30 % verbessert. Es werden phasenverzögerte und zeitverzögerte Ansätze zur Steuerung der Strahlrichtung analysiert, wobei Entwicklungsherausforderungen wie Flächenverbrauch, Signaldämpfung und Strahlschielen identifiziert und diskutiert werden. Ein aktiver Vektorsummen-Phasenschieber mit hoher Verstärkung von 11.3 dB und einer Ausgangsleistung von 5 dBm, der mit einer PAE von 6.29 % den Stand der Technik um den Faktor 30 verbessert, wird entworfen. Die hohe Verstärkung ist zum Teil auf eine Optimierung der orthogonalen Signalerzeugungsstufe zurückzuführen, die durch die Untersuchung und den Vergleich verschiedener Architekturen ermöglicht wird. Bei der Entscheidung für einen elektromagnetischen Koppler rechtfertigt die geringere Signaldämpfung einen höheren Flächenverbrauch. Durch die Kombination mit einem Frequenzvervierfacher wird eine LO-Kette mit Phasensteuerung für den Betrieb bei 220 GHz geschaffen und charakterisiert, was die vorangegangene Analyse der Phasen-FrequenzBeziehung während der Multiplikation bestätigt. Sie erreicht einen Leistungsgewinn von 21 dB und übertrifft damit vergleichbare Designs um 25dB. Dies ermöglicht die Kombination von Phasensteuerung, Frequenzvervielfachung und Vorverstärkung. Der HochfrequenzWirkungsgrad wird um das 40-fache auf 0.99 % bei einer Gesamtleistungsaufnahme von 105 mW gesteigert. Motiviert durch den verzerrenden Effekt des Strahlenschielens in phasengesteuerten Breitbandarraysystemen, wird eine neuartige analoge hybride Strahlsteuerungsarchitektur untersucht, die phasenverzögerte und zeitverzögerte Steuerung kombiniert. Damit wird sowohl das Strahlenschielen phasenverzögerter Systeme als auch der große Flächenverbrauch zeitverzögerter Schaltungen reduziert. Es wird ein analytisches Entwurfsverfahren vorgestellt, das zu dem Forschungsergebnis führt, dass in einem idealen System ein Potenzial zur Reduktion des Strahlenschielens von mehr als 83 % besteht. Dabei wird die Zunahme des Flächenverbrauchs durch die Verringerung des Strahlenschielens aufgewogen. Es wird ein IC mit einer geringen Leistungsaufnahme von 4.3mW hergestellt und charakterisiert. Dabei wird die erste Zeitverzögerungsschaltung entworfen, die bei über 200 GHz arbeitet. Durch die Erzeugung eines Großteils der Strahlrichtung mittels Zeitverzögerung kann das Schielen des Strahls bei Messungen um mehr als 75% reduziert werden, während der nachfolgende Phasenschieber eine kontinuierliche Steuerung der Strahlrichtung gewährleistet. Insgesamt kann die benötigte Siliziumfläche im Vergleich zu zeitverzögerten Systemen im gleichen Frequenzbereich auf 43 % reduziert werden. Auf der Grundlage von Studien zur optimalen Signaleinspeisung und Eingangsanpassung einer Gilbert-Zelle wird ein Ultrabreitband-Mischer mit geringem Stromverbrauch entworfen. Dieser erreicht eine Ausgangsbandbreite von mehr als 100 GHz, die den Stand der Technik um 23% übertrifft. Bei einer Wandlungsverstärkung von –13dB ermöglicht dies Datenraten von mehr als 100 Gbps im BPSK-Betrieb. Die Erkenntnisse werden in einem integrierten, breitbandigen Sender konsolidiert, der um 246 GHz arbeitet und die höchsten veröffentlichten gemessenen Datenraten für Sender mit LO-Signalkette und Leistungsverstärker im BPSK-Betrieb auf 56 Gbps verdoppelt. Die daraus resultierende Transmitter-Effizienz von 7.4 pJ/bit verbessert den Stand der Technik um 70 % bzw. 50 % gegenüber BPSKund Quadratur Phasenumtastung (QPSK)-Systemen. Zusammen bilden die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit die Grundlage für stromsparende, effiziente, mobile Funkanwendungen der nächsten Generation mit einem Vielfachen der heute verfügbaren Datenraten.:Abstract 3 Zusammenfassung 5 List of Symbols 11 List of Acronyms 17 Prior Publications 19 1. Introduction 21 1.1. Motivation........................... 21 1.2. Objective of this Thesis ................... 25 1.3. Structure of this Thesis ................... 27 2. Overview of Employed Technologies and Techniques 29 2.1. IntegratedCircuitTechnology................ 29 2.2. Transmission Lines and Passive Structures . . . . . . . . 35 2.3. DigitalModulation ...................... 41 3. Frequency Quadrupler 45 3.1. Theoretical Analysis of Frequency Multiplication Circuits 45 3.2. Phase-Controlled Push-Push Principle for Frequency Quadrupling.......................... 49 3.3. Stand-alone Phase-Controlled Push-Push Quadrupler . 60 3.4. Phase-Controlled Push-Push Quadrupler based LO-chain with High Output Power ............... 72 9 4. Array Systems and Dynamic Beam Steering 91 4.1. Theoretical Analysis of BeamSteering. . . . . . . . . . . 95 4.2. Local Oscillator Phase Shifting with Vector-Modulator PhaseShifters......................... 107 4.3. Hybrid True-Time and Phase-Delayed Beam Steering . 131 5. Ultra-Wide Band Modulator for BPSK Operation 155 6. Broadband BPSK Transmitter System for Datarates up to 56 Gbps 167 6.1. System Architecture ..................... 168 6.2. Measurement Technique and Results . . . . . . . . . . . 171 6.3. Summary and performance comparison . . . . . . . . . 185 7. Conclusion and Outlook 189 A. Appendix 195 Bibliography 199 List of Figures 227 Note of Thanks 239 Curriculum Vitae 24

Photodetectors

In this book some recent advances in development of photodetectors and photodetection systems for specific applications are included. In the first section of the book nine different types of photodetectors and their characteristics are presented. Next, some theoretical aspects and simulations are discussed. The last eight chapters are devoted to the development of photodetection systems for imaging, particle size analysis, transfers of time, measurement of vibrations, magnetic field, polarization of light, and particle energy. The book is addressed to students, engineers, and researchers working in the field of photonics and advanced technologies

Silicon-organic hybrid (SOH) electro-optic modulators for high-speed and power-efficient communications

Silicon-organic hybrid (SOH) modulators add a highly efficient nonlinear organic electro-optic cladding material to the silicon photonic platform, thereby enabling efficient electro-optic modulation. In this book, the application potential of SOH modulators is investigated. Proof-of-principle experiments show that they can be used for high-speed communications at symbol rates up to 100 GBd and operated directly from a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) without additional driver amplifiers

InP-based semiconductor lasers with novel sampled Bragg gratings and applications

Semiconductor diode lasers have a wide variety of applications in optical communications, spectroscopy and imaging. This thesis reports on work to produce novel semiconductor diode lasers, and expand their application areas. Semiconductor lasers designed and fabricated in this work are based on quantum well structures operating at 1550 nm. Three main findings are reported in this thesis. The first finding is about distributed feedback semiconductor lasers and laser arrays based on novel sampled Bragg grating structures. These semiconductor lasers have enhanced effective coupling coefficients compared to distributed feedback lasers based on the conventional sampled Bragg grating structure. The effective coupling coefficient of the conventional sampled Bragg grating is only about 0.32 times of a uniform Bragg grating. However, based on novel sampled Bragg grating structures, the effective coupling coefficients can be up to 0.9 times of a uniform Bragg grating. An eight-wavelength distributed feedback semiconductor laser array is reported, which has a precise wavelength separation of 100 GHz at 1550 nm. 10 mW of output optical power was achieved by a single diode laser. The second finding regards a novel dual-mode semiconductor diode laser based on a single cavity. The dual wavelengths of this laser are lasing stably with a wavelength separation of 4.45 nm. Based on this dual-mode diode laser, a THz frequency of 560 GHz is generated based on the photomixing technique. The third finding of this thesis is about THz repetition frequency mode-locked semiconductor lasers. The mode-locked semiconductor lasers are based on novel sampled grating distributed Bragg reflector structures. Compared to the mode-locked laser based on the conventional sampled grating distributed Bragg reflector structure, the effective coupling coefficient is increased by more than a factor of three in the new mode-locked laser. Optical pulses at repetition frequencies of 620 GHz and 1 THz are generated based on the mode-locked diode laser. Design, fabrication and characterisation of these semiconductor lasers are introduced in detail in this thesis

Topical Workshop on Electronics for Particle Physics

The purpose of the workshop was to present results and original concepts for electronics research and development relevant to particle physics experiments as well as accelerator and beam instrumentation at future facilities; to review the status of electronics for the LHC experiments; to identify and encourage common efforts for the development of electronics; and to promote information exchange and collaboration in the relevant engineering and physics communities