A Wideband 77-GHz, 17.5-dBm Fully Integrated Power Amplifier in Silicon

A 77-GHz, +17.5 dBm power amplifier (PA) with fully integrated 50-Ω input and output matching and fabricated in a 0.12-µm SiGe BiCMOS process is presented. The PA achieves a peak power gain of 17 dB and a maximum single-ended output power of 17.5 dBm with 12.8% of power-added efficiency (PAE). It has a 3-dB bandwidth of 15 GHz and draws 165 mA from a 1.8-V supply. Conductor-backed coplanar waveguide (CBCPW) is used as the transmission line structure resulting in large isolation between adjacent lines, enabling integration of the PA in an area of 0.6 mm^2. By using a separate image-rejection filter incorporated before the PA, the rejection at IF frequency of 25 GHz is improved by 35 dB, helping to keep the PA design wideband

Mask Programmable CMOS Transistor Arrays for Wideband RF Integrated Circuits

A mask programmable technology to implement RF and microwave integrated circuits using an array of standard 90-nm CMOS transistors is presented. Using this technology, three wideband amplifiers with more than 15-dB forward transmission gain operating in different frequency bands inside a 4-22-GHz range are implemented. The amplifiers achieve high gain-bandwidth products (79-96 GHz) despite their standard multistage designs. These amplifiers are based on an identical transistor array interconnected with application specific coplanar waveguide (CPW) transmission lines and on-chip capacitors and resistors. CPW lines are implemented using a one-metal-layer post-processing technology over a thick Parylene-N (15 mum ) dielectric layer that enables very low loss lines (~0.6 dB/mm at 20 GHz) and high-performance CMOS amplifiers. The proposed integration approach has the potential for implementing cost-efficient and high-performance RF and microwave circuits with a short turnaround time

A 0.18-μm BICMOS 20-57 GHz Ultra-Wideband Low-Noise Amplifier Utilizing Frequency-Controlled Positive-Negative Feedback Technique

Silicon based complementary metallic oxide semiconductor (CMOS) and Bipolar Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (BiCMOS) radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), including microwave and millimeter-wave (MMW), are attractive for wireless communication and sensing systems due to their small chip size and facilitation in system-on-chip integration. One of the most important RFICs is the low-noise amplifier (LNA). The design of CMOS/BiCMOS wideband LNAs at MMW frequencies, especially those working across several decades of frequency, is challenging due to various issues. For instance, the device parasitic and inter-coupling between nearby elements in highly condensed chip areas limits the operating bandwidth and performance, and the conductive silicon substrates lead to the inevitable low quality factor of passive elements. In this work, a MMW BiCMOS ultra-wideband LNA across 20 to 57 GHz is presented along with the analysis, design and measurement results. To overcome the upper-band gain degradation and improve the in-band flatness, a novel frequency controlled positive-negative (P-N) feedback topology is adopted to modify the gain response by boosting the gain at the upper-band while suppressing that at the lower-band. To reduce overall power consumption, the first and second stages of the amplifier are stacked between supply voltage and DC ground to utilize the same DC current. At the output of amplifier, a shunt-peaking load stage is utilized to achieve wideband output matching. The designed ultra-wideband MMW LNA is fabricated in JAZZ 0.18-μm BiCMOS technology. It shows a measured power gain of 10.5 ± 0.5 dB, a noise figure between 5.1-7.0 dB, input and output return losses better than -10 and -15 dB, respectively, an input 1 dB compression point higher than -19 dBm, and an input third-order intercept point greater than -8 dBm. It dissipates 16.6 mW from 1.8 V DC supply and has a chip area of 700×400 μm^2

A 216–256 GHz fully differential frequency multiplier-by-8 chain with 0 dBm output power

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.This work presents a fully differential wideband and low power 240 GHz multiplier-by-8 chain, manufactured in IHP's 130 nm SiGe:C BiCMOS technology with fT/fmax = 300/500 GHz. A single ended 30 GHz input signal is multiplied by 8 using Gilbert cell-based quadrupler and doubler, and then amplified with a wideband differential 3-stage cascode amplifier. To achieve wide bandwidth and optimize for power consumption, the power budget has been designed in order to operate the frequency multipliers and the output amplifier in saturation. With this architecture the presented circuit achieves a 3 dB bandwidth of 40 GHz, meaning a relative 3 dB bandwidth of 17%, and a peak saturated output power of 0 dBm. Harmonic rejections better than 25 dB were measured for the 5th, 6th, and 7th harmonics. It dissipates 255 mW from 3 V supply which results in drain efficiency of 0.4%, while occupying 1.2 mm2. With these characteristics the presented circuit suits very well as a frequency multiplier chain for driving balanced mixers in 240 GHz transceivers for radar, communication, and sensing applications.DFG, 255715243, SPP 1857: Elektromagnetische Sensoren für Life Sciences (ESSENCE

A 0.18-μm BICMOS 20-57 GHz Ultra-Wideband Low-Noise Amplifier Utilizing Frequency-Controlled Positive-Negative Feedback Technique

Silicon based complementary metallic oxide semiconductor (CMOS) and Bipolar Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (BiCMOS) radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), including microwave and millimeter-wave (MMW), are attractive for wireless communication and sensing systems due to their small chip size and facilitation in system-on-chip integration. One of the most important RFICs is the low-noise amplifier (LNA). The design of CMOS/BiCMOS wideband LNAs at MMW frequencies, especially those working across several decades of frequency, is challenging due to various issues. For instance, the device parasitic and inter-coupling between nearby elements in highly condensed chip areas limits the operating bandwidth and performance, and the conductive silicon substrates lead to the inevitable low quality factor of passive elements. In this work, a MMW BiCMOS ultra-wideband LNA across 20 to 57 GHz is presented along with the analysis, design and measurement results. To overcome the upper-band gain degradation and improve the in-band flatness, a novel frequency controlled positive-negative (P-N) feedback topology is adopted to modify the gain response by boosting the gain at the upper-band while suppressing that at the lower-band. To reduce overall power consumption, the first and second stages of the amplifier are stacked between supply voltage and DC ground to utilize the same DC current. At the output of amplifier, a shunt-peaking load stage is utilized to achieve wideband output matching. The designed ultra-wideband MMW LNA is fabricated in JAZZ 0.18-μm BiCMOS technology. It shows a measured power gain of 10.5 ± 0.5 dB, a noise figure between 5.1-7.0 dB, input and output return losses better than -10 and -15 dB, respectively, an input 1 dB compression point higher than -19 dBm, and an input third-order intercept point greater than -8 dBm. It dissipates 16.6 mW from 1.8 V DC supply and has a chip area of 700×400 μm^2

Microwave and Millimeter-wave Concurrent Multiband Low-Noise Amplifiers and Receiver Front-end in SiGe BiCMOS Technology

A fully integrated SiGe BiCMOS concurrent multiband receiver front-end and its building blocks including multiband low-noise amplifiers (LNAs), single-to-differential amplifiers and mixer are presented for various Ku-/K-/Ka-band applications. The proposed concurrent multiband receiver building blocks and receiver front-end achieve the best stopband rejection performances as compared to the existing multiband LNAs and receivers. First, a novel feedback tri-band load composed of two inductor feedback notch filters is proposed to overcome the low Q-factor of integrated passive inductors, and hence it provides superior stopband rejection ratio (SRR). A new 13.5/24/35-GHz concurrent tri-band LNA implementing the feedback tri-band load is presented. The developed tri-band LNA is the first concurrent tri-band LNA operating up to millimeter-wave region. By expanding the operating principle of the feedback tri-band load, a 21.5/36.5-GHz concurrent dual-band LNA with an inductor feedback dual-band load and another 23/36-GHz concurrent dual-band LNA with a new transformer feedback dual-band load are also presented. The latter provides more degrees of freedom for the creation of the stopband and passbands as compared to the former. A 22/36-GHz concurrent dual-band single-to-differential LNA employing a novel single-to-differential transformer feedback dual-band load is presented. The developed LNA is the first true concurrent dual-band single-to-differential amplifier. A novel 24.5/36.5 GHz concurrent dual-band merged single-to-differential LNA and mixer implementing the proposed single-to-differential transformer feedback dual-band load is also presented. With a 21-GHz LO signal, the down-converted dual IF bands are located at 3.5/15.5 GHz for two passband signals at 24.5/36.5 GHz, respectively. The proposed merged LNA and mixer is the first fully integrated concurrent dual-band mixer operating up to millimeter-wave frequencies without using any switching mechanism. Finally, a 24.5/36.5-GHz concurrent dual-band receiver front-end is proposed. It consists of the developed concurrent dual-band LNA using the single-to-single transformer feedback dual-band load and the developed concurrent dual-band merged LNA and mixer employing the single-to-differential transformer feedback dual-band load. The developed concurrent dual-band receiver front-end achieves the highest gain and the best NF performances with the largest SRRs, while operating at highest frequencies up to millimeter-wave region, among the concurrent dual-band receivers reported to date

Microwave and Millimeter-wave Concurrent Multiband Low-Noise Amplifiers and Receiver Front-end in SiGe BiCMOS Technology

A fully integrated SiGe BiCMOS concurrent multiband receiver front-end and its building blocks including multiband low-noise amplifiers (LNAs), single-to-differential amplifiers and mixer are presented for various Ku-/K-/Ka-band applications. The proposed concurrent multiband receiver building blocks and receiver front-end achieve the best stopband rejection performances as compared to the existing multiband LNAs and receivers. First, a novel feedback tri-band load composed of two inductor feedback notch filters is proposed to overcome the low Q-factor of integrated passive inductors, and hence it provides superior stopband rejection ratio (SRR). A new 13.5/24/35-GHz concurrent tri-band LNA implementing the feedback tri-band load is presented. The developed tri-band LNA is the first concurrent tri-band LNA operating up to millimeter-wave region. By expanding the operating principle of the feedback tri-band load, a 21.5/36.5-GHz concurrent dual-band LNA with an inductor feedback dual-band load and another 23/36-GHz concurrent dual-band LNA with a new transformer feedback dual-band load are also presented. The latter provides more degrees of freedom for the creation of the stopband and passbands as compared to the former. A 22/36-GHz concurrent dual-band single-to-differential LNA employing a novel single-to-differential transformer feedback dual-band load is presented. The developed LNA is the first true concurrent dual-band single-to-differential amplifier. A novel 24.5/36.5 GHz concurrent dual-band merged single-to-differential LNA and mixer implementing the proposed single-to-differential transformer feedback dual-band load is also presented. With a 21-GHz LO signal, the down-converted dual IF bands are located at 3.5/15.5 GHz for two passband signals at 24.5/36.5 GHz, respectively. The proposed merged LNA and mixer is the first fully integrated concurrent dual-band mixer operating up to millimeter-wave frequencies without using any switching mechanism. Finally, a 24.5/36.5-GHz concurrent dual-band receiver front-end is proposed. It consists of the developed concurrent dual-band LNA using the single-to-single transformer feedback dual-band load and the developed concurrent dual-band merged LNA and mixer employing the single-to-differential transformer feedback dual-band load. The developed concurrent dual-band receiver front-end achieves the highest gain and the best NF performances with the largest SRRs, while operating at highest frequencies up to millimeter-wave region, among the concurrent dual-band receivers reported to date

A Millimeter-Wave Coexistent RFIC Receiver Architecture in 0.18-µm SiGe BiCMOS for Radar and Communication Systems

Innovative circuit architectures and techniques to enhance the performance of several key BiCMOS RFIC building blocks applied in radar and wireless communication systems operating at the millimeter-wave frequencies are addressed in this dissertation. The former encapsulates the development of an advanced, low-cost and miniature millimeter-wave coexistent current mode direct conversion receiver for short-range, high-resolution radar and high data rate communication systems. A new class of broadband low power consumption active balun-LNA consisting of two common emitters amplifiers mutually coupled thru an AC stacked transformer for power saving and gain boosting. The active balun-LNA exhibits new high linearity technique using a constant gm cell transconductance independent of input-outputs variations based on equal emitters’ area ratios. A novel multi-stages active balun-LNA with innovative technique to mitigate amplitude and phase imbalances is proposed. The new multi-stages balun-LNA technique consists of distributed feed-forward averaging recycles correction for amplitude and phase errors and is insensitive to unequal paths parasitic from input to outputs. The distributed averaging recycles correction technique resolves the amplitude and phase errors residuals in a multi-iterative process. The new multi-stages balun-LNA averaging correction technique is frequency independent and can perform amplitude and phase calibrations without relying on passive lumped elements for compensation. The multi-stage balun-LNA exhibits excellent performance from 10 to 50 GHz with amplitude and phase mismatches less than 0.7 dB and 2.86º, respectively. Furthermore, the new multi-stages balun-LNA operates in current mode and shows high linearity with low power consumption. The unique balun-LNA design can operates well into mm-wave regions and is an integral block of the mm-wave radar and communication systems. The integration of several RFIC blocks constitutes the broadband millimeter-wave coexistent current mode direct conversion receiver architecture operating from 22- 44 GHz. The system and architectural level analysis provide a unique understanding into the receiver characteristics and design trade-offs. The RF front-end is based on the broadband multi-stages active balun-LNA coupled into a fully balanced passive mixer with an all-pass in-phase/quadrature phase generator. The trans-impedance amplifier converts the input signal current into a voltage gain at the outputs. Simultaneously, the high power input signal current is channelized into an anti-aliasing filter with 20 dB rejection for out of band interferers. In addition, the dissertation demonstrates a wide dynamic range system with small die area, cost effective and very low power consumption

A Millimeter-Wave Coexistent RFIC Receiver Architecture in 0.18-µm SiGe BiCMOS for Radar and Communication Systems

Innovative circuit architectures and techniques to enhance the performance of several key BiCMOS RFIC building blocks applied in radar and wireless communication systems operating at the millimeter-wave frequencies are addressed in this dissertation. The former encapsulates the development of an advanced, low-cost and miniature millimeter-wave coexistent current mode direct conversion receiver for short-range, high-resolution radar and high data rate communication systems. A new class of broadband low power consumption active balun-LNA consisting of two common emitters amplifiers mutually coupled thru an AC stacked transformer for power saving and gain boosting. The active balun-LNA exhibits new high linearity technique using a constant gm cell transconductance independent of input-outputs variations based on equal emitters’ area ratios. A novel multi-stages active balun-LNA with innovative technique to mitigate amplitude and phase imbalances is proposed. The new multi-stages balun-LNA technique consists of distributed feed-forward averaging recycles correction for amplitude and phase errors and is insensitive to unequal paths parasitic from input to outputs. The distributed averaging recycles correction technique resolves the amplitude and phase errors residuals in a multi-iterative process. The new multi-stages balun-LNA averaging correction technique is frequency independent and can perform amplitude and phase calibrations without relying on passive lumped elements for compensation. The multi-stage balun-LNA exhibits excellent performance from 10 to 50 GHz with amplitude and phase mismatches less than 0.7 dB and 2.86º, respectively. Furthermore, the new multi-stages balun-LNA operates in current mode and shows high linearity with low power consumption. The unique balun-LNA design can operates well into mm-wave regions and is an integral block of the mm-wave radar and communication systems. The integration of several RFIC blocks constitutes the broadband millimeter-wave coexistent current mode direct conversion receiver architecture operating from 22- 44 GHz. The system and architectural level analysis provide a unique understanding into the receiver characteristics and design trade-offs. The RF front-end is based on the broadband multi-stages active balun-LNA coupled into a fully balanced passive mixer with an all-pass in-phase/quadrature phase generator. The trans-impedance amplifier converts the input signal current into a voltage gain at the outputs. Simultaneously, the high power input signal current is channelized into an anti-aliasing filter with 20 dB rejection for out of band interferers. In addition, the dissertation demonstrates a wide dynamic range system with small die area, cost effective and very low power consumption

Millimeter-Wave and Terahertz Transceivers in SiGe BiCMOS Technologies

This invited paper reviews the progress of silicon–germanium (SiGe) bipolar-complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (BiCMOS) technology-based integrated circuits (ICs) during the last two decades. Focus is set on various transceiver (TRX) realizations in the millimeter-wave range from 60 GHz and at terahertz (THz) frequencies above 300 GHz. This article discusses the development of SiGe technologies and ICs with the latter focusing on the commercially most important applications of radar and beyond 5G wireless communications. A variety of examples ranging from 77-GHz automotive radar to THz sensing as well as the beginnings of 60-GHz wireless communication up to THz chipsets for 100-Gb/s data transmission are recapitulated. This article closes with an outlook on emerging fields of research for future advancement of SiGe TRX performance