IC-Antenna Co-Integration for Efficient and Scalable Millimeter-Wave Antenna Interfaces

Millimeter-wave (mm-wave) technology promises high speed, high system capacity and low latency interconnects with reduced cost. Applications like high data-rate wireless links, next generation automotive sensors and security body scanners highly depend on mm-wave technology innovations. As operating frequency moves to higher mm-wave bands, shrinking antenna dimensions enable co-integration of IC and antenna. Limited transistor output power at mm-wave requires multi-element arrays to satisfy communication and radar link budgets. This dissertation presents a wafer-scale compatible IC-antenna co-integration for efficient and scalable mm-wave antenna interfaces. The proposed IC-antenna co-integration approach is demonstrated through single antenna transmitters, a concurrent dual-polarization receiver front-end and polarization-duplex transmitter/receiver front-end. Chapter 2 discusses the challenge of mm-wave IC-antenna interfaces with prior art including antenna-in-package (AiP) and on-chip antennas. The 60 GHz efficient, scalable and wafer-scale compatible IC-antenna co-integration approach is presented demonstrating wide bandwidth and large efficiency which are comparable to system-level AiP techniques at a lower cost and fabrication complexity. Chapter 3 extends the proposed approach to a concurrent 60 GHz dual-polarization receiver front-end for short-range imaging/communication applications and polarization diversity based MIMO links. Active cancellation between orthogonal polarizations is adopted to achieve ∼ 30 dB cross-polarization leakage cancellation and concurrent dual-pol reception. Chapter 4 presents a 60 GHz simultaneous transmit and receive front-end to achieve efficient polarization-duplex operation based on dual-polarization IC-antenna co-integration. Transmitter leakage is suppressed at receiver input and output by intrinsic antenna isolation and a feed-forward passive canceller. Total average self-interference cancellation >40 dB is achieved for 1.07 GHz RF bandwidth at 60 GHz in the presence of a reflector

SiGe BiCMOS front-end circuits for X-Band phased arrays

The current Transmit/Receive (T/R) modules have typically been implemented using GaAs- and InP-based discrete monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC) to meet the high performance requirement of the present X-Band phased arrays. However their cost, size, weight, power consumption and complexity restrict phased array technology only to certain military and satellite applications which can tolerate these limitations. Therefore, next generation X-Band phased array radar systems aim to use low cost, silicon-based fully integrated T/R modules. For this purpose, this thesis explores the design of T/R module front-end building blocks based on new approaches and techniques which can pave the way for implementation of fully integrated X-Band phased arrays in low-cost SiGe BiCMOS process. The design of a series-shunt CMOS T/R switch with the highest IP1dB, compared to other reported works in the literature is presented. The design focuses on the techniques, primarily, to achieve higher power handling capability (IP1dB), along with higher isolation and better insertion loss of the T/R switch. Also, a new T/R switch was implemented using shunt NMOS transistors and slow-wave quarter wavelength transmission lines. It presents the utilization of slow-wave transmissions lines in T/R switches for the first time in any BiCMOS technology to the date. A fully integrated DC to 20 GHz SPDT switch based on series-shunt topology was demonstrated. The resistive body oating and on-chip impedance transformation networks (ITN) were used to improve power handling of the switch. An X-Band high performance low noise ampli er (LNA) was implemented in 0.25 μm SiGe BiCMOS process. The LNA consists of inductively degenerated two cascode stages with high speed SiGe HBT devices to achieve low noise gure (NF), high gain and good matching at the input and output, simultaneously. The performance parameters of the LNA collectively constitute the best Figure-of-Merit value reported in similar technologies, to the best of author's knowledge. Furthermore, a switched LNA was implemented SiGe BiCMOS process for the first time at X-Band. The resistive body floating technique was incorporated in switched LNA design, for the first time, to improve the linearity of the circuit further in bypass mode. Finally, a complete T/R module with a state-of-the-art performance was implemented using the individually designed blocks. The simulations results of the T/R module is presented in the dissertation. The state-of-the-art performances of the presented building blocks and the complete module are attributed to the unique design methodologies and techniques

A Modulator-less Beam Steering Transmitter based on a revised DDS-PLL Phase Shifter Architecture

This paper details the design and implementation of a modulator-less beam steering transmitter based on a revised DDS-PLL phase shifter architecture. The proposed topology targets low data rate communications for Internet-of-Things systems, and has been demonstrated using an FPGA evaluation board and a custom PCB with four PLLs centered at 2.453-GHz. Measured system performance for an experimental 32-kbps data rate achieved through a 16-PSK modulation scheme are discussed. The proposed architecture is frequency independent, can be used in multi-band devices and has the potential for being integrated as an RF System-on-Chip

Wideband Circuits and Antenna Designs for mm-Wave/5G Phased Arrays

The objective of this work is to present the performance and feasibility of wideband circuits and antennas for future mm-Wave phased array systems. Chapter 1 introduces the motivation of this research, first explaining the desire to operate at higher frequency regimes. Then focus is directed on the rich application spaces at mm-Wave frequencies and the corresponding need for wideband, compact, and fully integrated system-on-chip (SoC) solutions. A brief study of advanced node commercial silicon processes is also examined to demonstrate the increasing feasibility of implementing the aforementioned SoC solutions on silicon. Chapter 2 presents a design methodology of a novel ultra-compact, low-loss, and wideband mm-Wave Wilkinson Power Divider (WPD). Careful study and analysis reveal optimal and necessary design parameters and equations in terms of the coupling and mutual inductances within the structure, yielding a device that is competitive with existing literature. Chapter 3 first introduces the operation principle of spiral antennas (SA). The unique properties of SAs that make them great candidates for use in future mm-Wave phased arrays are explored. The rest of this chapter discusses the design, analysis, and results of an octagonal 4-arm Archimedean SA. Lastly, Chapter 4 provides closing remarks and discusses potential future work.M.S

High-performance wireless interface for implant-to-air communications

Nous élaborons une interface cerveau-machine (ICM) entièrement sans fil afin de fournir un système de liaison directe entre le cerveau et les périphériques externes, permettant l’enregistrement et la stimulation du cerveau pour une utilisation permanente. Au cours de cette thèse, nous explorons la modélisation de canal, les antennes implantées et portables en tant que propagateurs appropriés pour cette application, la conception du nouveau système d’un émetteur-récepteur UWB implantable, la conception niveau système du circuit et sa mise en oeuvre par un procédé CMOS TSMC 0.18 um. En plus, en collaboration avec Université McGill, nous avons conçu un réseau de seize antennes pour une détection du cancer du sein à l’aide d’hyperfréquences. Notre première contribution calcule la caractérisation de canal de liaison sans fil UWB d’implant à l’air, l’absorption spécifique moyennée (ASAR), et les lignes directrices de la FCC sur la densité spectrale de puissance UWB transmis. La connaissance du comportement du canal est nécessaire pour déterminer la puissance maximale permise à 1) respecter les lignes directrices ANSI pour éviter des dommages aux tissus et 2) respecter les lignes directrices de la FCC sur les transmissions non autorisées. Nous avons recours à un modèle réaliste du canal biologique afin de concevoir les antennes pour l’émetteur implanté et le récepteur externe. Le placement des antennes est examiné avec deux scénarios contrastés ayant des contraintés de puissance. La performance du système au sein des tissus biologiques est examinée par l’intermédiaire des simulations et des expériences. Notre deuxième contribution est dédiée à la conception des antennes simples et à double polarisation pour les systèmes d’enregistrement neural sans fil à bande ultra-large en utilisant un modèle multicouches inhomogène de la tête humaine. Les antennes fabriquées à partir de matériaux flexibles sont plus facilement adaptées à l’implantation ; nous étudions des matériaux à la fois flexibles et rigides et examinons des compromis de performance. Les antennes proposées sont conçues pour fonctionner dans une plage de fréquence de 2-11 GHz (ayant S11-dessous de -10 dB) couvrant à la fois la bande 2.45 GHz (ISM) et la bande UWB 3.1-10.6 GHz. Des mesures confirment les résultats de simulation et montrent que les antennes flexibles ont peu de dégradation des performances en raison des effets de flexion (en termes de correspondance d’impédance). Finalement, une comparaison est réalisée entre quatre antennes implantables, couvrant la gamme 2-11 GHz : 1) une rigide, à la polarisation simple, 2) une rigide, à double polarisation, 3) une flexible, à simple polarisation et 4) une flexible, à double polarisation. Dans tous les cas une antenne rigide est utilisée à l’extérieur du corps, avec une polarisation appropriée. Plusieurs avantages ont été confirmés pour les antennes à la polarisation double : 1) une taille plus petite, 2) la sensibilité plus faible aux désalignements angulaires, et 3) une plus grande fidélité. Notre troisième contribution fournit la conception niveau système de l’architecture de communication sans fil pour les systèmes implantés qui stimulent simultanément les neurones et enregistrent les réponses de neurones. Cette architecture prend en charge un grand nombre d’électrodes (> 500), fournissant 100 Mb/s pour des signaux de stimulation de liaison descendante, et Gb/s pour les enregistrements de neurones de liaison montante. Nous proposons une architecture d’émetteur-récepteur qui partage une antenne ultra large bande, un émetteur-récepteur simplifié, travaillant en duplex intégral sur les deux bandes, et un nouveau formeur d’impulsions pour la liaison montante du Gb/s soutenant plusieurs formats de modulation. Nous présentons une démonstration expérimentale d’ex vivo de l’architecture en utilisant des composants discrets pour la réalisation les taux Gb/s en liaison montante. Une bonne performance de taux d’erreur de bit sur un canal biologique à 0,5, 1 et 2 Gb/s des débits de données pour la télémétrie de liaison montante (UWB) et 100 Mb/s pour la télémétrie en liaison descendante (bande 2.45 GHz) est atteinte. Notre quatrième contribution présente la conception au niveau du circuit d’un dispositif d’émission en duplex total qui est présentée dans notre troisième contribution. Ce dispositif d’émission en duplex total soutient les applications d’interfaçage neural multimodal et en haute densité (les canaux de stimulant et d’enregistrement) avec des débits de données asymétriques. L’émetteur (TX) et le récepteur (RX) partagent une seule antenne pour réduire la taille de l’implant. Le TX utilise impulse radio ultra-wide band (IR-UWB) basé sur une approche alliant des bords, et le RX utilise un nouveau 2.4 GHz récepteur on-off keying (OOK).Une bonne isolation (> 20 dB) entre le trajet TX et RX est mis en oeuvre 1) par mise en forme des impulsions transmises pour tomber dans le spectre UWB non réglementé (3.1-7 GHz), et 2) par un filtrage espace-efficace du spectre de liaison descendante OOK dans un amplificateur à faible bruit RX. L’émetteur UWB 3.1-7 GHz peut utiliser soit OOK soit la modulation numérique binaire à déplacement de phase (BPSK). Le FDT proposé offre une double bande avec un taux de données de liaison montante de 500 Mbps TX et un taux de données de liaison descendante de 100 Mb/s RX, et il est entièrement en conformité avec les standards TSMC 0.18 um CMOS dans un volume total de 0,8 mm2. Ainsi, la mesure de consommation d’énergie totale en mode full duplex est de 10,4 mW (5 mW à 100 Mb/s pour RX, et de 5,4 mW à 500 Mb/s ou 10,8 PJ / bits pour TX). Notre cinquième contribution est une collaboration avec l’Université McGill dans laquelle nous concevons des antennes simples et à double polarisation pour les systèmes de détection du cancer du sein à l’aide d’hyperfréquences sans fil en utilisant un modèle multi-couche et inhomogène du sein humain. Les antennes fabriquées à partir de matériaux flexibles sont plus facilement adaptées à des applications portables. Les antennes flexibles miniaturisées monopôles et spirales sur un 50 um Kapton polyimide sont conçus, en utilisant high frequency structure simulator (HFSS), à être en contact avec des tissus biologiques du sein. Les antennes proposées sont conçues pour fonctionner dans une gamme de fréquences de 2 à 4 GHz. Les mesures montrent que les antennes flexibles ont une bonne adaptation d’impédance dans les différentes positions sur le sein. De Plus, deux antennes à bande ultralarge flexibles 4 × 4 (simple et à double polarisation), dans un format similaire à celui d’un soutien-gorge, ont été développés pour un système de détection du cancer du sein basé sur le radar.We are working on a fully wireless brain-machine-interface to provide a communication link between the brain and external devices, enabling recording and stimulating the brain for permanent usage. In this thesis we explore channel modeling, implanted and wearable antennas as suitable propagators for this application, system level design of an implantable UWB transceiver, and circuit level design and implementing it by TSMC 0.18 um CMOS process. Also, in a collaboration project with McGill University, we designed a flexible sixteen antenna array for microwave breast cancer detection. Our first contribution calculates channel characteristics of implant-to-air UWB wireless link, average specific absorption rate (ASAR), and FCC guidelines on transmitted UWB power spectral density. Knowledge of channel behavior is required to determine the maximum allowable power to 1) respect ANSI guidelines for avoiding tissue damage and 2) respect FCC guidelines on unlicensed transmissions. We utilize a realistic model of the biological channel to inform the design of antennas for the implanted transmitter and the external receiver. Antennas placement is examined under two scenarios having contrasting power constraints. Performance of the system within the biological tissues is examined via simulations and experiments. Our second contribution deals with designing single and dual-polarization antennas for wireless ultra-wideband neural recording systems using an inhomogeneous multi-layer model of the human head. Antennas made from flexible materials are more easily adapted to implantation; we investigate both flexible and rigid materials and examine performance trade-offs. The proposed antennas are designed to operate in a frequency range of 2–11 GHz (having S11 below -10 dB) covering both the 2.45 GHz (ISM) band and the 3.1–10.6 GHz UWB band. Measurements confirm simulation results showing flexible antennas have little performance degradation due to bending effects (in terms of impedance matching). Finally, a comparison is made of four implantable antennas covering the 2-11 GHz range: 1) rigid, single polarization, 2) rigid, dual polarization, 3) flexible, single polarization and 4) flexible, dual polarization. In all cases a rigid antenna is used outside the body, with an appropriate polarization. Several advantages were confirmed for dual polarization antennas: 1) smaller size, 2) lower sensitivity to angular misalignments, and 3) higher fidelity. Our third contribution provides system level design of wireless communication architecture for implanted systems that simultaneously stimulate neurons and record neural responses. This architecture supports large numbers of electrodes (> 500), providing 100 Mb/s for the downlink of stimulation signals, and Gb/s for the uplink neural recordings. We propose a transceiver architecture that shares one ultra-wideband antenna, a streamlined transceiver working at full-duplex on both bands, and a novel pulse shaper for the Gb/s uplink supporting several modulation formats. We present an ex-vivo experimental demonstration of the architecture using discrete components achieving Gb/s uplink rates. Good bit error rate performance over a biological channel at 0.5, 1, and 2 Gbps data rates for uplink telemetry (UWB) and 100 Mbps for downlink telemetry (2.45 GHz band) is achieved. Our fourth contribution presents circuit level design of the novel full-duplex transceiver (FDT) which is presented in our third contribution. This full-duplex transceiver supports high-density and multimodal neural interfacing applications (high-channel count stimulating and recording) with asymmetric data rates. The transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) share a single antenna to reduce implant size. The TX uses impulse radio ultra-wide band (IR-UWB) based on an edge combining approach, and the RX uses a novel 2.4-GHz on-off keying (OOK) receiver. Proper isolation (> 20 dB) between the TX and RX path is implemented 1) by shaping the transmitted pulses to fall within the unregulated UWB spectrum (3.1-7 GHz), and 2) by spaceefficient filtering (avoiding a circulator or diplexer) of the downlink OOK spectrum in the RX low-noise amplifier. The UWB 3.1-7 GHz transmitter can use either OOK or binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation schemes. The proposed FDT provides dual band 500-Mbps TX uplink data rate and 100 Mbps RX downlink data rate, and it is fully integrated into standard TSMC 0.18 um CMOS within a total size of 0.8 mm2. The total measured power consumption is 10.4 mW in full duplex mode (5 mW at 100 Mbps for RX, and 5.4 mW at 500 Mbps or 10.8 pJ/bit for TX). Our fifth contribution is a collaboration project with McGill University which we design single and dual-polarization antennas for wireless ultra-wideband breast cancer detection systems using an inhomogeneous multi-layer model of the human breast. Antennas made from flexible materials are more easily adapted to wearable applications. Miniaturized flexible monopole and spiral antennas on a 50 um Kapton polyimide are designed, using a high frequency structure simulator (HFSS), to be in contact with biological breast tissues. The proposed antennas are designed to operate in a frequency range of 2–4 GHz (with reflection coefficient (S11) below -10 dB). Measurements show that the flexible antennas have good impedance matching while in different positions with different curvature around the breast. Furthermore, two flexible conformal 4×4 ultra-wideband antenna arrays (single and dual polarization), in a format similar to that of a bra, were developed for a radar-based breast cancer detection system

Low-Overhead Built-In Self-Test for Advanced RF Transceiver Architectures

abstract: Due to high level of integration in RF System on Chip (SOC), the test access points are limited to the baseband and RF inputs/outputs of the system. This limited access poses a big challenge particularly for advanced RF architectures where calibration of internal parameters is necessary and ensure proper operation. Therefore low-overhead built-in Self-Test (BIST) solution for advanced RF transceiver is proposed. In this dissertation. Firstly, comprehensive BIST solution for RF polar transceivers using on-chip resources is presented. In the receiver, phase and gain mismatches degrade sensitivity and error vector magnitude (EVM). In the transmitter, delay skew between the envelope and phase signals and the finite envelope bandwidth can create intermodulation distortion (IMD) that leads to violation of spectral mask requirements. Characterization and calibration of these parameters with analytical model would reduce the test time and cost considerably. Hence, a technique to measure and calibrate impairments of the polar transceiver in the loop-back mode is proposed. Secondly, robust amplitude measurement technique for RF BIST application and BIST circuits for loop-back connection are discussed. Test techniques using analytical model are explained and BIST circuits are introduced. Next, a self-compensating built-in self-test solution for RF Phased Array Mismatch is proposed. In the proposed method, a sinusoidal test signal with unknown amplitude is applied to the inputs of two adjacent phased array elements and measure the baseband output signal after down-conversion. Mathematical modeling of the circuit impairments and phased array behavior indicates that by using two distinct input amplitudes, both of which can remain unknown, it is possible to measure the important parameters of the phased array, such as gain and phase mismatch. In addition, proposed BIST system is designed and fabricated using IBM 180nm process and a prototype four-element phased-array PCB is also designed and fabricated for verifying the proposed method. Finally, process independent gain measurement via BIST/DUT co-design is explained. Design methodology how to reduce performance impact significantly is discussed. Simulation and hardware measurements results for the proposed techniques show that the proposed technique can characterize the targeted impairments accurately.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Electrical Engineering 201

High-Isolation Low-Power Active Quasi-Circulator for 44GHz Transceiver with Power and Noise Optimization in 0.18 Micrometer BICMOS

Circulator is an important directional component in RF, microwave and millimeter wave communication front ends for certain communications, which requires transmitting and receiving signal simultaneously in the same band without switching of antenna from transmitter to receiver. As modern trend of wireless communication, conventional ferrite circulator is huge, bulky and heavy to be integrated with analog and digital baseband processing circuits. Active circulators provide a compact high isolation solution for low power application with smaller size and less cost with compatibility with modern IC. Previous works are majorly working at low frequency and paid little attention to power and noise requirement of active quasi-circulator working at the front end of a transceiver. A BiCMOS active quasi-circulator at 44GHz is designed in 0.18 μm process to provide high isolation low cost solution, which is comprised of in-phase divider and out-of-phase active combiner, with noise and power optimization. Moreover, techniques employed to improve isolation such as high Common mode rejection ratio(CMRR) balun design, common mode feedback, and novel method of power splitting and noise optimization, impedance matching scheme are discussed. High isolation of cascode structure is analyzed and major tradeoffs among characteristics are investigated, such as: gain and transmission-reception isolation; output impedance, matching and noise; linearity, power and efficiency. The circulator operates around 44 GHz with 3dB bandwidth of 4.53GHz, achieves maximum 2.897dBm input and 2.32dBm output power. Noise Figure (NF) is 10.62dB for reception path, only 0.03dB higher than NFmin. Linearity is reasonable for both in-phase divider and out-of-phase active combiner. OIP3 of in-phase divider is 8.15dBm, IIP3 is 4.48dBm, P1dB,in is -5.97dBm. OIP3 of out-of-phase active combiner is 5.18 dBm, IIP3 is 3.85dBm, P1dB, in is -2.79dBm. All the isolations better than -37 dB are achieved and forward gains better than 4 dB are achieved with power consumption 56.83mW. Large signal TX-RX isolation is 51.837dB. The circuit takes merely 1.415mm*1.014mm area. This active quasi-circulator offers a low cost substitute solution for circulator in low power applications