8 research outputs found
Monolithic transformers for high frequency bulk CMOS circuits
This paper presents two monolithic transformer structures exhibiting high self resonance frequencies(fSR). Effect of positive and negative coupling factor on self resonance frequency is investigated. The transformer turn ratio and structure is selected to improve design and ease layout of a high frequency LNA and VCO. Measurement results of a transformer show good agreement with simulated values and demonstrate a coupling factor of 0.7 at 20 GHz
Design and characterization of monolithic millimeter-wave active and passive components, low-noise and power amplifiers, resistive mixers, and radio front-ends
This thesis focuses on the design and characterization of monolithic active and passive components, low-noise and power amplifiers, resistive mixers, and radio front-ends for millimeter-wave applications. The thesis consists of 11 publications and an overview of the research area, which also summarizes the main results of the work. In the design of millimeter-wave active and passive components the main focus is on realized CMOS components and techniques for pushing nanoscale CMOS circuits beyond 100 GHz. Test structures for measuring and analyzing these components are shown. Topologies for a coplanar waveguide, microstrip line, and slow-wave coplanar waveguide that are suitable for implementing transmission lines in nanoscale CMOS are presented. It is demonstrated that the proposed slow-wave coplanar waveguide improves the performance of the transistor-matching networks when compared to a conventional coplanar waveguide and the floating slow-wave shield reduces losses and simplifies modeling when extended below other passives, such as DC decoupling and RF short-circuiting capacitors. Furthermore, wideband spiral transmission line baluns in CMOS at millimeter-wave frequencies are demonstrated. The design of amplifiers and a wideband resistive mixer utilizing the developed components in 65-nm CMOS are shown. A 40-GHz amplifier achieved a +6-dBm 1-dB output compression point and a saturated output power of 9.6 dBm with a miniature chip size of 0.286 mm². The measured noise figure and gain of the 60-GHz amplifier were 5.6 dB and 11.5 dB, respectively. The V-band balanced resistive mixer achieved a 13.5-dB upconversion loss and 34-dB LO-to-RF isolation with a chip area of 0.47 mm². In downconversion, the measured conversion loss and 1-dB input compression point were 12.5 dB and +5 dBm, respectively. The design and experimental results of low-noise and power amplifiers are presented. Two wideband low-noise amplifiers were implemented in a 100-nm metamorphic high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) technology. The amplifiers achieved a 22.5-dB gain and a 3.3-dB noise figure at 94 GHz and a 18-19-dB gain and a 5.5-7.0-dB noise figure from 130 to 154 GHz. A 60-GHz power amplifier implemented in a 150-nm pseudomorphic HEMT technology exhibited a +17-dBm 1-dB output compression point with a 13.4-dB linear gain. In this thesis, the main system-level aspects of millimeter-wave transmitters and receivers are discussed and the experimental circuits of a 60-GHz transmitter front-end and a 60-GHz receiver with an on-chip analog-to-digital converter implemented in 65-nm CMOS are shown. The receiver exhibited a 7-dB noise figure, while the saturated output power of the transmitter front-end was +2 dBm. Furthermore, a wideband W-band transmitter front-end with an output power of +6.6 dBm suitable for both image-rejecting superheterodyne and direct-conversion transmission is demonstrated in 65-nm CMOS
Advances in Solid State Circuit Technologies
This book brings together contributions from experts in the fields to describe the current status of important topics in solid-state circuit technologies. It consists of 20 chapters which are grouped under the following categories: general information, circuits and devices, materials, and characterization techniques. These chapters have been written by renowned experts in the respective fields making this book valuable to the integrated circuits and materials science communities. It is intended for a diverse readership including electrical engineers and material scientists in the industry and academic institutions. Readers will be able to familiarize themselves with the latest technologies in the various fields
Continuous-time low-pass filters for integrated wideband radio receivers
This thesis concentrates on the design and implementation of analog baseband continuous-time low-pass filters for integrated wideband radio receivers. A total of five experimental analog baseband low-pass filter circuits were designed and implemented as a part of five single-chip radio receivers in this work.
After the motivation for the research work presented in this thesis has been introduced, an overview of analog baseband filters in radio receivers is given first. In addition, a review of the three receiver architectures and the three wireless applications that are adopted in the experimental work of this thesis is presented. The relationship between the integrator non-idealities and integrator Q-factor, as well as the effect of the integrator Q-factor on the filter frequency response, are thoroughly studied on the basis of a literature review. The theoretical study that is provided is essential for the gm-C filter synthesis with non-ideal lossy integrators that is presented after the introduction of different techniques to realize integrator-based continuous-time low-pass filters. The filter design approach proposed for gm-C filters is original work and one of the main points in this thesis, in addition to the experimental IC implementations.
Two evolution versions of fourth-order 10-MHz opamp-RC low-pass filters designed and implemented for two multicarrier WCDMA base-station receivers in a 0.25-µm SiGe BiCMOS technology are presented, along with the experimental results of both the low-pass filters and the corresponding radio receivers. The circuit techniques that were used in the three gm-C filter implementations of this work are described and a common-mode induced even-order distortion in a pseudo-differential filter is analyzed. Two evolution versions of fifth-order 240-MHz gm-C low-pass filters that were designed and implemented for two single-chip WiMedia UWB direct-conversion receivers in a standard 0.13-µm and 65-nm CMOS technology, respectively, are presented, along with the experimental results of both the low-pass filters and the second receiver version. The second UWB filter design was also embedded with an ADC into the baseband of a 60-GHz 65-nm CMOS radio receiver. In addition, a third-order 1-GHz gm-C low-pass filter was designed, rather as a test structure, for the same receiver. The experimental results of the receiver and the third gm-C filter implementation are presented
System and Circuit Design Techniques for Silicon-based Multi-band/Multi-standard Receivers
Today, the advances in Complementary MetalOxideSemiconductor (CMOS)
technology have guided the progress in the wireless communications circuits and
systems area. Various new communication standards have been developed to accommodate
a variety of applications at different frequency bands, such as cellular
communications at 900 and 1800 MHz, global positioning system (GPS) at 1.2 and
1.5 GHz, and Bluetooth andWiFi at 2.4 and 5.2 GHz, respectively. The modern wireless
technology is now motivated by the global trend of developing multi-band/multistandard
terminals for low-cost and multifunction transceivers. Exploring the unused
10-66 GHz frequency spectrum for high data rate communication is also another trend
in the wireless industry.
In this dissertation, the challenges and solutions for designing a multi-band/multistandard
mobile device is addressed from system-level analysis to circuit implementation.
A systematic system-level design methodology for block-level budgeting is
proposed. The system-level design methodology focuses on minimizing the power
consumption of the overall receiver. Then, a novel millimeter-wave dual-band receiver
front-end architecture is developed to operate at 24 and 31 GHz. The receiver
relies on a newly introduced concept of harmonic selection that helps to reduce the complexity of the dual-band receiver. Wideband circuit techniques for millimeterwave
frequencies are also investigated and new bandwidth extension techniques are
proposed for the dual-band 24/31 GHz receiver. These new techniques are applied
for the low noise amplifier and millimeter-wave mixer resulting in the widest reported
operating bandwidth in K-band, while consuming less power consumption.
Additionally, various receiver building blocks, such as a low noise amplifier with
reconfigurable input matching network for multi-band receivers, and a low drop-out
regulator with high power supply rejection are analyzed and proposed. The low
noise amplifier presents the first one with continuously reconfigurable input matching
network, while achieving a noise figure comparable to the wideband techniques. The
low drop-out regulator presented the first one with high power supply rejection in the
mega-hertz frequency range.
All the proposed building blocks and architecture in this dissertation are implemented
using the existing silicon-based technologies, and resulted in several publications
in IEEE Journals and Conferences