Transmitter architectures with digital modulators, D/A converters and switching-mode power amplifiers

This thesis is composed of nine publications and an overview of the research topic, which also summarises the work. The research described in this thesis focuses on research into the digitalisation of wireless communication base station transmitters. In particular it has three foci: digital modulation, D/A conversion and switching-mode power amplification. The main interest in the implementation of these circuits is in CMOS. The work summarizes the designs of several circuit blocks of a wireless transmitter base station. In the baseband stage, a multicarrier digital modulator that combines multiple modulated signals at different carrier frequencies digitally at baseband, and a multimode digital modulator that can be operated for three different communications standards, are implemented as integrated circuits. The digital modulators include digital power ramping and power level control units for transmission bursts. The upconversion of the baseband signal is implemented using an integrated digital quadrature modulator. The work presented provides insight into the digital-to-analogue interface in the transmitters. This interface is studied both by implementing an intermediate frequency D/A converter in BiCMOS technology and bandpass Delta-Sigma modulator-based D/A conversion in CMOS technology. Finally, the last part of the work discusses switching-mode power amplifiers which are experimented with both as discrete and integrated implementations in conjunction with 1-bit Delta-Sigma modulation and pulse-width modulation as input signal generation methods.Tämä väitöskirja koostuu yhdeksästä julkaisusta ja tutkimusaiheen yhteenvedosta. Väitöskirjassa esitetty tutkimus keskittyy langattaman viestinnän tukiasemien lähettimien digitalisoinnin tutkimukseen. Yksityiskohtaisemmin tutkimusalueet ovat: digitaalinen modulaatio, D/A muunnos ja kytkinmuotoiset tehovahvistimet. Näiden elektronisten piirien toteutuksessa keskitytään CMOS teknologiaan. Työ vetää yhteen useiden langattoman viestinnän tukiasemien lähettimien piirilohkojen suunnittelun. Kantataajuusasteella toteutetaan integroituna piirinä monikantoaaltoinen digitaalinen modulaattori, joka yhdistää useita moduloituja signaaleja eri kantoaalloilla digitaalisesti ja monistandardi digitaalinen modulaatori, joka tukee kolmea eri viestintästandardia. Digitaaliset modulaattoripiirit sisältävät digitaalisen tehoramping ja tehotason säätöyksikön lähetyspurskeita varten. Kantataajuussignaalin ylössekoitus toteutetaan integroitua digitaalista kvadratuurimodulaattoria käyttäen. Esitetty työ antaa näkemystä lähettimien digitalia-analogia rajapintaan, jota tutkitaan toteuttamalla välitaajuinen D/A muunnin BiCMOS teknologialla ja päästökaistainen Delta-Sigma-modulaattoripohjainen D/A muunnin CMOS teknologialla. Lopuksi työn viimeinen osa käsittelee kytkinmuotoisia tehovahvistimia, joita tutkitaan kokeellisesti sekä erilliskompontein toteutettuina piirein että integroiduin piirein toteutettuina käyttäen sisääntulosignaalin muodostamismenetemänä yksibittistä Delta-Sigma-modulaatiota ja pulssin leveys modulaatiota.reviewe

Transmetteurs photoniques sur silicium pour les transmissions optiques à grande capacité

Les applications exigeant des très nombreuses données (médias sociaux, diffusion vidéo en continu, mégadonnées, etc.) se développent à un rythme rapide, ce qui nécessite de plus en plus de liaisons optiques ultra-rapides. Ceci implique le développment des transmetteurs optiques intégrés et à bas coût et plus particulirement en photonique sur silicium en raison de ses avantages par rapport aux autres technologies (LiNbO3 et InP), tel que la compatibilité avec le procédé de fabrication CMOS. Les modulateurs optoélectronique sont un élément essentiel dans la communication op-tique. Beaucoup de travaux de recherche sont consacrées au développement de dispositifs optiques haut débit efficaces. Cependant, la conception de modulateurs en photonique sur sili-cium (SiP) haut débit est diffcile, principalement en raison de l'absence d'effet électro-optique intrinsèque dans le silicium. De nouvelles approches et de architectures plus performances doivent être développées afin de satisfaire aux critères réliés au système d'une liaison optique aux paramètres de conception au niveau du dispositif integré. En outre, la co-conception de circuits integrés photoniques sur silicium et CMOS est cruciale pour atteindre tout le potentiel de la technologie de photonique sur silicium. Ainsi cette thèse aborde les défits susmentionnés. Dans notre première contribution, nous préesentons pour la première fois un émetteur phononique sur silicium PAM-4 sans utiliser un convertisseur numérique analog (DAC)qui comprend un modulateur Mach Zehnder à électrodes segmentées SiP (LES-MZM) implémenté dans un procédé photonique sur silicium générique avec jonction PN latérale et son conducteur CMOS intégré. Des débits allant jusqu'à 38 Gb/s/chnnel sont obtenus sans utili-ser un convertisseur numérique-analogique externe. Nous présentons également une nouvelle procédure de génération de délai dans le excitateur de MOS complémentaire. Un effet, un délai robuste aussi petit que 7 ps est généré entre les canaux de conduite. Dans notre deuxième contribution, nous présentons pour la première fois un nouveau fac-teur de mérite (FDM) pour les modulateurs SiP qui inclut non seulement la perte optique et l'efficacité (comme les FDMs précédents), mais aussi la bande passante électro-optique du modulateur SiP (BWEO). Ce nouveau FDM peut faire correspondre les paramètres de conception physique du modulateur SiP à ses critères de performance au niveau du système, facilitant à la fois la conception du dispositif optique et l'optimisation du système. Pour la première fois nous définissons et utilisons la pénalité de puissance du modulateur (MPP) induite par le modulateur SiP pour étudier la dégradation des performances au niveau du système induite par le modulateur SiP dans une communication à base de modulation d'amplitude d'impulsion optique. Nous avons développé l'équation pour MPP qui inclut les facteurs de limitation du modulateur (perte optique, taux d'extinction limité et limitation de la bande passante électro-optique). Enfin, dans notre troisième contribution, une nouvelle méthodologie de conception pour les modulateurs en SiP intégré à haute débit est présentée. La nouvelle approche est basée sur la minimisation de la MPP SiP en optimisant l'architecture du modulateur et le point de fonctionnement. Pour ce processus, une conception en longueur unitaire du modulateur Mach Zehnder (MZM) peut être optimisée en suivant les spécifications du procédé de fabrication et les règles de conception. Cependant, la longueur et la tension de biais du d'éphaseur doivent être optimisées ensemble (par exemple selon vitesse de transmission et format de modulation). Pour vérifier l'approche d'optimisation proposée expérimentale mont, a conçu un modulateur photonique sur silicium en phase / quadrature de phase (IQ) ciblant le format de modulation 16-QAM à 60 Gigabaud. Les résultats expérimentaux prouvent la fiabilité de la méthodologie proposée. D'ailleurs, nous avons augmenté la vitesse de transmission jusqu'à 70 Gigabaud pour tester la limite de débit au système. Une transmission de données dos à dos avec des débits binaires de plus de 233 Gigabit/s/channel est observée. Cette méthodologie de conception ouvre ainsi la voie à la conception de la prochaine génération d'émetteurs intégrés à double polarisation 400+ Gigabit/s/channel.Data-hungry applications (social media, video streaming, big data, etc.) are expanding at a fast pace, growing demand for ultra-fast optical links. This driving force reveals need for low-cost, integrated optical transmitters and pushes research in silicon photonics because of its advantages over other platforms (i.e. LiNbO3 and InP), such as compatibility with CMOS fabrication processes, the ability of on-chip polarization manipulation, and cost effciency. Electro-optic modulators are an essential component of optical communication links and immense research is dedicated to developing effcient high-bitrate devices. However, the design of high-capacity Silicon Photonics (SiP) transmitters is challenging, mainly due to lack of inherent electro-optic effect in silicon. New design methodologies and performance merits have to be developed in order to map the system-level criteria of an optical link to the design parameters in device-level. In addition, co-design of silicon photonics and CMOS integrated circuits is crucial to reveal the full potential of silicon photonics. This thesis addresses the aforementioned challenges. In our frst contribution, for the frst time we present a DAC-less PAM-4 silicon photonic transmitter that includes a SiP lumped-element segmented-electrode Mach Zehnder modula-tor (LES-MZM) implemented in a generic silicon photonic process with lateral p-n junction and its co-designed CMOS driver. Using post processing, bitrates up to 38 Gb/s/channel are achieved without using an external digital to analog converter. We also presents a novel delay generation procedure in the CMOS driver. A robust delay as small as 7 ps is generated between the driving channels. In our second contribution, for the frst time we present a new figure of merit (FOM) for SiP modulators that includes not only the optical loss and effciency (like the prior FOMs), but also the SiP modulator electro-optic bandwidth ( BWEO). This new FOM can map SiP modulator physical design parameters to its system-level performance criteria, facilitating both device design and system optimization. For the frst time we define and employ the modulator power penalty (MPP) induced by the SiP modulator to study the system level performance degradation induced by SiP modulator in an optical pulse amplitude modulation link. We develope a closed-form equation for MPP that includes the SiP modulator limiting factors (optical loss, limited extinction ratio and electro-optic bandwidth limitation). Finally in our third contribution, we present a novel design methodology for integrated high capacity SiP modulators. The new approach is based on minimizing the power penalty of a SiP modulator (MPP) by optimizing modulator design and bias point. For the given process, a unit-length design of Mach Zehnder modulator (MZM) can be optimized following the process specifications and design rules. However, the length and the bias voltage of the phase shifter must be optimized together in a system context (e.g., baud rate and modulation format). Moreover, to verify the proposed optimization approach in experiment, we design an in-phase/quadrature-phase (IQ) silicon photonic modulator targeting 16-QAM modulation format at 60 Gbaud. Experimental results proves the reliability of our proposed methodology. We further push the baud rate up to 70 Gbaud to examine the capacity boundary of the device. Back to back data transmission with bitrates more than 233 Gb/s/channel are captured. This design methodology paves the way for designing the next generation of integrated dual- polarization 400+ Gb/s/channel transmitters

Development of an integrated silicon photonic transceiver for access networks

Debido a la imparable aparición de dispositivos móviles multifunción junto con aplicaciones que requieren cada vez más un mayor ancho de banda en cualquier momento y en cualquier lugar, las futuras redes de acceso deberán ser capaces de proporcionar servicios tanto inalámbricos como cableados. Es por ello que una solución a seguir es el uso de sistemas de comunicaciones ópticas como medio de transporte de señales inalámbricas en enlaces de radio sobre fibra. Con ello, se converge a un dominio óptico reduciendo y aliviando el cuello de botella entre los estándares de acceso inalámbrico y cableado. En esta tesis, como parte de los objetivos establecidos en el proyecto europeo HELIOS en el que está enmarcada, se han investigado y desarrollado los bloques funcionales básicos necesarios para realizar un transceptor fotónico integrado trabajando en el rango de longitudes de onda milimétricas, y haciendo uso de los formatos de modulación más robustos y que mejor se adaptan al ámbito de aplicación considerado. El trabajo que se presenta en esta tesis se puede dividir básicamente en tres partes. La primera de ellas ofrece una descripción general de los beneficios del uso de la fotónica en silicio para el desarrollo de enlaces inalámbricos a velocidades de Gbps, así como el estado del arte de los transceptores desarrollados por los grupos de investigación más activos y punteros para satisfacer las necesidades de mercado, cada vez más exigentes. La segunda parte se centra en el estudio y desarrollo del transmisor integrado de onda milimétrica. Primero realizamos una breve introducción teórica tanto del funcionamiento de los dispositivos que forman parte del transmisor, como a los formatos de modulación existentes, centrando la atención en la modulación por desplazamiento de fase (PSK) que es la que se va a utilizar en el desarrollo de los dispositivos implicados, y más concretamente en la modulación (diferencial) de fase en cuadratura ((D)QPSK). También se presentan los bloques básicos que integran nuestro transmisor y se fijan las especificaciones que deben cumplir dichos bloques para conseguir una transmisión libre de errores. El transmisor está compuesto por un filtro/demultiplexor encargado de separar dos portadoras ópticas separadas una frecuencia de 60 GHz. Una de estas portadoras es modulada al pasar por un modulador DQPSK basado en una estructura de dos MachZehnders (MZs) anidados, para ser nuevamente combinada con la otra portadora óptica que se ha mantenido intacta. Una vez combinadas, éstas son fotodetectadas para ser transmitidas inalámbricamente. En la tercera parte de esta tesis, se investiga el uso de un esquema de diversidad en polarización junto a un receptor DQPSK integrado para la demodulación de la señal recibida. El esquema de diversidad en polarización está formado básicamente por dos bloques: un separador de polarización con el objetivo de separar la luz a la entrada del chip en sus dos componentes ortogonales; y un rotador de polarización. En lo que se refiere al receptor DQPSK propiamente dicho, se ha investigado y optimizado cada uno de los bloques funcionales que lo componen. Éstos son básicamente un divisor de potencia termo-ópticamente sintonizable basado en un interferómetro MZ, en serie con un interferómetro MZ que introduce un retardo de duración de un bit en uno de sus brazos, para obtener una correcta demodulación diferencial. El siguiente bloque que forma parte de nuestro receptor DQPSK es un 2x4 acoplador de interferencia multimodal actuando como un híbrido de 90 grados, cuyas salidas van a parar a dos fotodetectores balanceados de germanio. Las contribuciones principales de esta tesis han sido: ¿ Demostración de un filtro/demultiplexor con tres grados de sintonización con una relación de extinción superior a 25dB. ¿ Demostración de un rotador con una longitud de tan sólo 25µm y CMOS compatible. ¿ Demostración de un modulador DPSK a una velocidad máxima de 20 Gbit/s. ¿ Demostración de un demodulador DQPSK a una velocidad máxima de 20 Gbit/s.Due to the relentless emergence of multifunction mobile devices with applications that require increasingly greater bandwidth at anytime and anywhere, future access networks must be capable of providing both wireless and wired services. The use of optical communications systems as transport medium of wireless signals over fiber radio links is a steady solution to be taken into account. This will make possible a convergence to an optical domain reducing and alleviating the bottleneck between wireless access standards and current wired access. In this thesis, as part of the objectives of the European project HELIOS in which it is framed, we have investigated and developed the basic functional blocks needed to achieve an integrated photonic transceiver working in the range of millimetre wavelengths, and using robust modulation formats that best fit the scope considered. The work presented in this thesis can be basically divided into three parts. The first one provides an overview of the benefits of using silicon photonics for the development of wireless links at rates of Gbps, and the state of the art of the transceivers reported by the most important research groups in order to meet the increasingly demanding needs¿ market. The second part focuses on the study and development of millimetre-wave integrated transmitter. First we provide a brief theoretical introduction of the operation principles of the devices involved in the transmitter such as a modulation formats, focusing on the phase shift keying (PSK) which is the one that will be used, particularly the (differential) quadrature phase shift keying ((D) QPSK). We also present the building blocks involved in our transmitter and we set the specifications that must be met by these devices in order to achieve an error-free transmission. The transmitter includes a filter/demultiplexer which must separate two optical carriers 60 GHz separated. One of these optical carriers is modulated by passing through a DQPSK Mach-Zehnder-based modulator (MZM) by arranging two MZMs in a nested configuration. Using a combiner, the modulated optical signal and the un-modulated carrier are combined and photodetected to be transmitted wirelessly. In the third part of this thesis, we investigate the use of a polarization diversity scheme with an integrated DQPSK receiver for demodulating of the wireless signal. The polarization diversity scheme basically consists of two blocks: a polarization splitter in order to separate the random polarization state of the incoming light into its two orthogonal components, and a polarization rotator. Regarding the DQPSK receiver itself, all the functional blocks that comprise it have been investigated and optimized. It basically includes a thermo-optically tunable MZ interferometer power splitter, in series with a MZ interferometer that introduces, in one of its arms, a delay of one bit length in order to obtain a correct differential demodulation. The next building block of our DQPSK receiver is a 2x4 multimode interference coupler acting as a 90 degree hybrid, whose outputs are connected to two balanced germanium photodetectors. The main contributions of this thesis are: ¿ Demonstration of a filter/demultiplexer with three degrees of tuning and an extinction ratio greater than 25dB. ¿ Demonstration of a polarization rotator with a length of only 25¿m and CMOS compatible. ¿ Demonstration of a DPSK modulator at a maximum rate of 20 Gbit/s. ¿ Demonstration of a DQPSK demodulator to a maximum rate of 20 Gbit/s.Aamer, M. (2013). Development of an integrated silicon photonic transceiver for access networks [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/31649TESI

Integration of broadband direct-conversion quadrature modulators

To increase spectral efficiency, transmitters usually send only one of the information carrying sidebands centered around a single radio-frequency carrier. The close-lying mirror, or image, sideband will be eliminated either by the filtering method or by the phasing method. Since filter Q-values rise in direct relation to the transmitted frequencies, the filtering method is generally not feasible for integrated microwave transmitters. A quadrature modulator realizes the phasing method by combining signals phased at quadrature (i.e. at 90° offsets) to produce a single-sideband (SSB) output. In this way output filtering can be removed or its specifications greatly relieved so as to produce an economical microwave transmitter. The proliferation of integrated circuit (IC) technologies since the 1980s has further boosted the popularity of quadrature modulator as an IC realization makes possible the economical production of two closely matched doubly balanced mixers, which suppress carrier and even-order spurious leakage to circuit output. Another strength of IC is its ability to perform microwave quadrature generation accurately on-chip, and thereby to avoid most of the interconnect parasitics which could ruin high-frequency quadrature signaling. Nevertheless, all quadrature modulator implementations are sensitive to phasing and amplitude errors, which are born as a result of mismatches, from the use of inaccurate differential signaling, and from inadequacies in the phasing circuitry itself. A 2° phase error is easily produced, and it reduces the image-rejection ratio (IRR) to −30 dBc. Therefore, as baseband signals synthesized by digital signal processing (DSP) are sufficiently accurate, this thesis concentrates on analyzing and producing the microwave signal path of a direct-conversion quadrature modulator with special emphasis on broadband, multimode radio-compatible operation. A model of the direct-conversion quadrature modulator operation has been developed, which reveals the effect the circuit non-linearities and mismatch-related offsets have on available performance. Further, theoretical proof is given of the well-known property of improving differential signal balance that cascaded differential pairs exhibit. Among the practical results, a current reuse mixer has been developed, which improves the transmitted signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) by 3 dB, with a maximum measured dynamic range of +158 dB. The complementary bipolar process was further used to extend the bipolar push-pull stage bandwidth to 9.5 GHz. At the core of this work is the parallel switchable polyphase (PP) filter quadrature generator that was developed, since it makes possible accurate broadband IQ generation without the high loss that usually results from the application of PP filtering. Two IQ modulator prototypes were realized to test simulated and theoretically derived data: the 0.8 µm SiGe IC achieves an IRR better than −40 dBc over 0.75-3.6 GHz, while the 0.13 µm digital bulk CMOS IC achieves better than −37 dBc over 0.56-4.76 GHz. For this IRR performance the SiGe prototype boasts the inexpensive solution of integrated baluns, while the CMOS one utilizes a coil-transmission line hybrid transformer at its LO input to drive the switchable PP filters.Taajuuksien käytön tehostamiseksi lähettimet lähettävät yleensä vain toisen informaatiota sisältävistä sivukaistoistaan yhdelle radiotaajuuksiselle kantoaallolle keskitettynä. Viereinen peilitaajuus eli sivukaista vaimennetaan joko suodattamalla tai vaiheistamalla signalointia sopivasti. Koska suodattimen hyvyysluvut nousevat suorassa suhteessa käytettyyn taajuuteen, ei suodatusmenetelmä ole yleensä mahdollinen mikroaaltotaajuusalueen lähettimissä. Kvadratuurimodulaattori toteuttaa vaiheistusmenetelmän yhdistämällä 90-asteen vaihesiirroksin vaiheistetut signaalit yksisivukaistaisen lähetteen tuottamiseksi. Näin voidaan korvata lähdön suodatus joko kokonaan tai lieventämällä vaadittavia suoritusarvoja, jolloin mikroaaltoalueen lähetin voidaan tuottaa taloudellisesti. Integroitujen piiriratkaisujen yleistyminen 1980-luvulta lähtien on edesauttanut kvadratuurimodulaattorin suosiota, koska integroidulle piirille voidaan taloudellisesti tuottaa kaksi hyvin ominaisuuksiltaan toisiaan vastaavaa kaksoisbalansoitua sekoitinta, ja nämä tunnetusti vaimentavat kantoaaltovuotoa ja parillisia harmoonisia piirin lähdössä. Toinen integroitujen piirien vahvuus on kyky tarkkaan mikroaaltoalueen kvadratuurisignalointiin samalla piirillä, jolloin vältetään suurin osa kytkentöjen parasiittisista jotka muutoin voisivat tuhota korkeataajuuksisen 90-asteen vaiheistuksen. Kaikki kvadratuurimodulaattorit ovat joka tapauksessa herkkiä vaiheistus- ja amplitudieroille, joita syntyy komponenttiarvojen satunnaishajonnasta, epätarkan differentiaalisen signaloinnin käytöstä, ja itse vaiheistuspiiristön puutteellisuuksista. Kahden asteen vaihevirhe syntyy helposti, ja tällöin sivukaistavaimennus heikkenee -30 dBc:n tasolle. Tämänvuoksi, ja olettaen että digitaalisella signaaliprosessorilla luotu kantataajuuksinen signalointi on riittävän tarkkaa, tämä väitöskirja keskittyy kvadratuurimodulaattorin mikroaaltotaajuuksisen signaalipolun analysointiin ja tuottamiseen painottaen erityisesti laajakaistaista, monisovellusradioiden kanssa yhteensopivaa toimivuutta. Kvadratuurimodulaattorin toimintamallia on kehitetty siten, että mallissa huomioidaan epälineaarisuuksien ja piirielementtien satunnaishajontojen vaikutus saavutettavalle suorituskyvylle. Lisäksi on teoreettisesti todistettu sinänsä hyvin tunnettu peräkkäin kytkettyjen vahvistinasteiden differentiaalisen signaloinnin symmetrisyyttä parantava vaikutus. Käytännön tuloksista voidaan mainita kehitetty virtaakierrättävä sekoitin, joka parantaa signaali-kohinasuhdetta +3 dB, suurimman mitatun dynaamisen alueen ollessa +158 dB. Samaa komplementaarista bipolaariprosessia käytettiin edelleen bipolaarisen vuorovaihe-asteen kaistan levittämisessä 9.5 GHz:iin. Yhtenä tämän työn tärkeimmistä tuloksista on kehitetty kytkimin valittavista rinnakkaisista monivaihesuodattimista koostuva kvadratuurigeneraattori, jolla on mahdollista tuottaa laajakaistaista IQ-signalointia ilman suurta häviötä joka yleensä liittyy monivaihesuodattimien käyttöön. Kaksi IQ-modulaattoriprototyyppiä toteutettiin simuloitujen ja teoreettisesti mallinnettujen tulosten testaamiseksi: 0.8 µm SiGe integroitu piiri saavuttaa paremman sivukaistavaimennuksen kuin -40 dBc yli 0.75-3.6 GHz, kun taas 0.13 µm digitaalipiirien tuottamiseen tarkoitetulla CMOS prosessilla toteutettu integroitu piiri saavuttaa paremman sivukaistavaimennuksen kuin -37 dBc taajuusalueella 0.56-4.76 GHz. Näihin sivukaistavaimennuksiin SiGe prototyyppi pääsee edullisesti integroiduin symmetrointimuuntajin, kun taas CMOS piirillä käytetään kela-siirtojohto-tyyppistä yhdistelmämuuntajaa LO-sisääntulossa josta ajetaan erikseen kytkettäviä monivaihesuodattimia.reviewe

Digital Radio Encoding and Power Amplifier Design for Multimode and Multiband Wireless Communications

The evolution of wireless technology has necessitated the support of multiple communication standards by mobile devices. At present, multiple chipsets/radios operating at predefined sets of modulation schemes, frequency bands, bandwidths and output power levels are used to achieve this objective. This leads to higher component counts, increased cost and limits the capacity to cope with future communication standards. In order to tackle different wireless standards using a single chipset, digital circuits have been increasingly deployed in radios and demonstrated re-configurability in different modulation schemes (multimode) and frequency bands (multiband). Despite efforts and progress made in digitizing the entire radio, the power amplifier (PA) is still designed using an conventional approach and has become the bottleneck in digital transmitters, in terms of low average power efficiency, poor compatibility with modern CMOS technology and limited re-configurability. This research addresses these issues from two aspects. The first half of the thesis investigates signal encoding issues between the modulator and PA. We propose, analyze and evaluate a new hybrid amplitude/time signal encoding scheme that significantly improves the coding efficiency and dynamic range of a digitally modulated power amplifier (DMPA) without significantly increasing design complexity. The proposed hybrid amplitude/time encoding scheme combines both the amplitude domain and the time domain to optimally encode information. Experimental results show that hybrid amplitude/time encoding results in a 35% increase in the average coding efficiency with respect to conventional time encoding, and is only 6.7% lower than peak efficiency when applied to a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) signal with a peak to average power ratio equal to 9.9 dB. A new DMPA architecture, based on the proposed hybrid encoding, is also proposed. The second half of this thesis presents the design, analysis and implementation of a CMOS PA that is amenable to the proposed hybrid encoding scheme. A multi-way current mode class-D PA architecture has been proposed and realized in 130 nm CMOS technology. The designed PA has satisfied the objectives of wide bandwidth (1.5 GHz - 2.7 GHz at 1 dB output power), and high efficiency (PAE 63%) in addition to demonstrating linear responses using the proposed digital encoding. A complete digital transmitter combining the encoder and the multi-way PA was also investigated. The overall efficiency is 27% modulating 7.3 dB peak to average power ratio QAM signals

Silicon photonic modulators for PAM transmissions

High-speed optical interconnects are crucial for both data centers and high performance computing systems. High power consumption and limited device bandwidth have hindered the move to higher optical transmission speeds. Integrated optical transceivers in silicon photonics (SiP) using pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM) are a promising solution to increase data rates. In this paper, we review recent progress in SiP for PAM transmissions. We focus on materials and technologies available CMOS-compatible photonics processes. Performance metrics of SiP modulators and crucial considerations for high-speed PAM transmissions are discussed. Various driving strategies to achieve optical PAM signals are presented. Some of the state-of-the-art SiP PAM modulators and integrated transmitters are reviewed

CMOS Data Converters for Closed-Loop mmWave Transmitters

With the increased amount of data consumed in mobile communication systems, new solutions for the infrastructure are needed. Massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) is seen as a key enabler for providing this increased capacity. With the use of a large number of transmitters, the cost of each transmitter must be low. Closed-loop transmitters, featuring high-speed data converters is a promising option for achieving this reduced unit cost.In this thesis, both digital-to-analog (D/A) and analog-to-digital (A/D) converters suitable for wideband operation in millimeter wave (mmWave) massive MIMO transmitters are demonstrated. A 2 76 bit radio frequency digital-to-analog converter (RF-DAC)-based in-phase quadrature (IQ) modulator is demonstrated as a compact building block, that to a large extent realizes the transmit path in a closed-loop mmWave transmitter. The evaluation of an successive-approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is also presented in this thesis. Methods for connecting simulated and measured performance has been studied in order to achieve a better understanding about the alternating comparator topology.These contributions show great potential for enabling closed-loop mmWave transmitters for massive MIMO transmitter realizations

Plasmonic-Organic and Silicon-Organic Hybrid Modulators for High-Speed Signal Processing

High-speed electro-optic (EO) modulators are key devices for optical communications, microwave photonics, and for broadband signal processing. Among the different material platforms for high-density photonic integrated circuits (PIC), silicon photonics sticks out because of CMOS foundries specialized in PIC fabrication. However, the absence of the Pockels effect in silicon renders EO modulators with high-efficiency and large modulation bandwidth difficult. In this dissertation, plasmonic and photonic slot waveguide modulators are investigated. The devices are built on the silicon platform and are combined with highly-efficient organic EO materials. Using such a hybrid platform, we realize compact and fast plasmonic-organic hybrid (POH) and silicon-organic hybrid (SOH) modulators. As an application example, we demonstrate for the first time an advanced terahertz communication link by directly converting data on a 360 GHz carrier to a data stream on an optical carrier. For optical transmitter applications, we overcome the bandwidth limitation of conventional SOH modulators by introducing a high-k dielectric microwave slotline for guiding the modulating radio-frequency signal which is capacitively-coupled to the EO modulating region. We confirm the viability of such capacitively-coupled SOH modulators by generating four-state pulse amplitude modulated signals with data rates up to 200 Gbit/s

Power efficient subcarrier modulation for intensity modulated channels

We compare formats for optical intensity modulation limited by thermal noise with the assumption of having ideal devices. At the same bitrate and bandwidth, a hitherto unknown format turns out to be more power efficient than known formats. This new modulation, which is a hybrid between on-off keying and phase-shift keying, belongs to the subcarrier modulation family. At asymptotically high signal-to-noise ratios, this hybrid scheme has a 1.2 dB average electrical power gain and 0.6 dB average optical power gain compared to OOK, while it has a 3.0 dB average electrical power gain and 2.1 dB average optical power gain compared to subcarrier QPSK