Magnetostatic wave technology: a review

Magnetostatic wave (MSW) technology has been under investigation for more than a decade. Using ferrimagnetic films such as liquid-phase epitaxial (LPE) yttrium iron garnet (YIG) films, MSW devices and subsystems offer instantaneous bandwidths of up to 1 GHz at operating frequencies in the microwave bands (0.5-26.5 GHz). Because MSWs travel with velocities two-to-four orders of magnitude slower than electromagnetic waves, compact devices can be built using hybrid and monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) techniques. These devices include delay lines, dispersive delay lines, filters, resonators, and directional couplers. Subsystems using these devices, such as electronically tunable delay lines channelized filter banks, delay-line discriminators, oscillators, and frequency multipliers can be used for applications in signal identification, control and processing directly at microwave frequencies. An overview of the MSW technology is presented and an assessment of the various devices and subsystems that can be built using thin and thick LPE-YIG films is provided     

Analog signal processing with microwave magnetics

The main performance advantage that analog signal-processing devices have over their digital competitors is the ability to operate with wide instantaneous bandwidths and moderately high dynamic ranges at microwave frequencies. Here, applications of magnetostatic wave (MSW) devices that capitalize on these advantages are reviewed. The first area is broadband microwave receivers, which includes frequency channelizers, dispersive delay lines for compressive receivers, delay lines for pulse storage, and frequency-selective limiters. The second area is beamsteering of phased-array antennas by variable time delays. In both cases, the MSW device approaches and applications are discussed with emphasis on the device characteristics and their systems utilization. Where possible, comparisons with other analog signal-processing approaches are given     

An X- and Ku-Band 8-Element Phased-Array Receiver in 0.18-$mu{hbox{m}}$ SiGe BiCMOS Technology

This paper demonstrates an 8-element phased array receiver in a standard 0.18-mum SiGe BiCMOS (1P6M, SiGe HBT f_t ap 150 GHz) technology for X- and Ku-band applications. The array receiver adopts the All-RF architecture, where the phase shifting and power combining are done at the RF level. With the integrations of all the digital control circuitry and ESD protection for all I/O pads, the receiver consumes a current of 100 ~ 200 m A from a 3.3 V supply voltage. The receiver shows 1.5 ~ 24.5 dB of power gain per channel from a 50 Omega load at 12 GHz with bias current control, and an associated NF of 4.2 dB (@ max. gain) to 13.2 dB (@ min. gain). The RMS gain error is < 0.9 dB and the RMS phase error is < 6deg at 6-18 GHz for all 4-bit phase states. The measured group delay is 162.5 plusmn 12.5 ps for all phase states at 6-18 GHz. The RMS phase mismatch and RMS gain mismatch among the eight channels are < 2.7deg and 0.4 dB, respectively, for all 16 phase states, over 6-18 GHz. The 8-element array can operate instantaneously at any center frequency and with a wide bandwidth (3 to 6 GHz, depending on the center frequency) given primarily by the 3 dB gain variation in the 6-18 GHz range. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of an All-RF phased array on a silicon chip with very low RMS phase and gain errors at 6-18 GHz. The chip size is 2.2 times 2.45 mm² including all pads.     

Current status of magnetostatic reflective array filters

The continual demand for increased performance in modern communication and radar systems in terms of increased bandwidths and higher operating frequencies has led to investigation of novel techniques and technologies for analog signal processing. In particular, surface acoustic waves (SAW) have been extensively exploited with great success to this end, but systems requiring bandwidths greater than 500 MHz and center frequencies greater than 1 GHz have pushed SAW devices near the practical physical limit of the technology. A novel technology promising increased bandwidths at higher frequencies is based on magnetostatic waves (MSW) propagating in epitaxial films such as Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG). These waves can be exploited in devices offering instantaneous bandwidths up to 2.2 GHz at microwave center frequencies from 0.5 to 20 GHz.MSW signal processing technology, based on transversal filtering concepts has been under extensive investigation for the past 10 years. This paper reviews the work that has been done utilizing the MSW technology in conjunction with reflective arrays to achieve practical spectral amplitude and delay modification.     

Surface-wave delay lines with near-octave bandwidth

Efficient operation of lithium-niobate delay lines over bandwidths approaching one octave is reported. The transducers are of a 3-electrode (N = 1) interdigital design. Broad bandwidth to the series-resonant transducer is obtained by the use of a lumped-element impedance invertor coupling network. A 9.1 ?s delay line is described, which gives 55% 3 dB bandwidth centred at 235 MHz with 25 dB minimum loss and over 50 dB minimum triple-transit suppression.     

Cost Effective Silica‐Based 100 G DP‐QPSK Coherent Receiver

We present a cost‐effective dual polarization quadrature phase‐shift coherent receiver module using a silica planar lightwave circuit (PLC) hybrid assembly. Two polarization beam splitters and two 90° optical hybrids are monolithically integrated in one silica PLC chip with an index contrast of 2%‐Δ. Two four‐channel spot‐size converter integrated waveguide‐photodetector (PD) arrays are bonded on PD carriers for transverse‐electric/transverse‐magnetic polarization, and butt‐coupled to a polished facet of the PLC using a simple chip‐to‐chip bonding method. Instead of a ceramic sub‐mount, a low‐cost printed circuit board is applied in the module. A stepped CuW block is used to dissipate the heat generated from trans‐impedance amplifiers and to vertically align RF transmission lines. The fabricated coherent receiver shows a 3‐dB bandwidth of 26 GHz and a common mode rejection ratio of 16 dB at 22 GHz for a local oscillator optical input. A bit error rate of is achieved at a 112‐Gbps back‐to‐back transmission with off‐line digital signal processing.     

Solid-state microwave delay lines

Solid-state delay lines operating at microwave frequencies can provide many advantages over conventional delay techniques. These devices use sound waves or magnetic spin waves to obtain fixed, variable, or dispersive behavior. The size and weight of electromagnetic delay lines, together with inherent high cable loss, are avoided with solid-state units. Pulse compression filters with bandwidths of several hundred MHz have been constructed, and the future promises even greater capabilities.     

Magnetostatic wave convolvers

The present paper reviews recent theoretical results, and reports initial experimental results, on the convolution of contra-propagating magnetostatic forward volume waves (MSFVWs), in the form of cw signals or time-limited cw pulses, in an epitaxial yttrium iron garnet (YIG) film. Computations of the convolver bilinearity factorF _int indicate an efficient convolution process over a wide bandwidth, with values ofF _int that are of the same order as, or better than, the reported experimental results for MSW convolution in a YIG cylindrical or plate geometry. The values of F_int determined experimentally are in excellent agreement with theory. These results are of interest to microwave system developers particularly if bandwidths of 1 GHz or larger can be realized in practice. A limiting feature of magnetostatic wave (MSW) convolvers is that the maximum delay time of a delay line that is realizable without excessive insertion loss is in the order of 0.5s. The advantage of MSW convolvers, of course, lies in their ability to perform signal processing directly at microwave frequencies, and in applications such as electronic warfare the advantageously large bandwidths would mitigate the limitations in delay time.This work was supported in part by a contract from the AIL Division of the Eaton Corporation.     

A Scalable 6-to-18 GHz Concurrent Dual-Band Quad-Beam Phased-Array Receiver in CMOS

This paper reports a 6-to-18 GHz integrated phased- array receiver implemented in 130-nm CMOS. The receiver is easily scalable to build a very large-scale phased-array system. It concurrently forms four independent beams at two different frequencies from 6 to 18 GHz. The nominal conversion gain of the receiver ranges from 16 to 24 dB over the entire band while the worst-case cross-band and cross-polarization rejections are achieved 48 dB and 63 dB, respectively. Phase shifting is performed in the LO path by a digital phase rotator with the worst-case RMS phase error and amplitude variation of 0.5$^{circ}$ and 0.4 dB, respectively, over the entire band. A four-element phased-array receiver system is implemented based on four receiver chips. The measured array patterns agree well with the theoretical ones with a peak-to-null ratio of over 21.5 dB.      

Theory and performance of acoustical dispersive surface wave delay lines

A summary is given of properties of Love and Rayleigh waves in stratified isotropic media. The study of propagation of such waves in anisotropic and piezoelectric media, carried out in view of obtaining "pure" modes, shows that two modes can be "pure" and only one of them at a time can be piezoelectrically stiffened. The Rayleigh wave is stiffened if the sagittal plane is a plane of symmetry whereas the Love wave is stiffened if the perpendicular to the sagittal plane is a binary axis. The problems in devising dispersive delay lines using these waves are discussed and the pairs of materials which seem to be the most interesting ones are given together with the different excitation methods and expected performance of these delay lines relating to large bandwidths and high compression ratios. The results of experiments carried out with Love and Rayleigh waves excited by ceramic transducers directly bonded onto the layer show that the total untuned insertion losses can be less than 20 dB with a 2.5-MHz bandwidth and less than 50 dB with a 100-MHz bandwidth. Also described is the performance of a delay line whose time delay variation is nearly 8 µs with a 30-MHz bandwidth, the central frequency being 32.5 MHz.     

Applications of magnetostatic wave technology to EW systems — An assessment

Current magnetostatic wave technology applicable to EW systems is assessed. Some of the developments currently underway with dispersive and non-dispersive delay lines, tunable oscillators and bandpass filters are examined and projected performance three years from now is given. Various EW applications are then described based on these projections. This includes compressive receivers, fast call receivers, phased arrays, scanning receivers, and channelizers. In many instances MSW technology can replace SAW provided further improvements materialize.     

A 20 Gbps inductorless CMOS optical receiver for short-distance VCSEL-based 850 nm optical links

This paper presents a circuit design and experimental results for a 20 Gbps CMOS inductorless optical receiver, a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) and a limiting amplifier, for a vertical-cavity surface emitting laser based 850 nm optical link. The proposed optical receiver apply a power supply noise canceling technique, an additional path from the power supply to the TIA output to generate a reversed phase signal that reduces the power supply noise, and bandwidth enhancement circuit design that dose not require internal inductors. The simulation results shows a power supply rejection ratio of ?96.6 dB at 10 MHz, a total gain of $82.8\,\hbox{dB}\Upomega$ and a ?3 dB bandwidth of 15.5 GHz. A test chip fabricated in 90 nm CMOS technology and demonstrated with a PIN photo-diode, a bandwidth of 17 GHz and a responsibility of 0.53 A/W. The measurement results show a 25 % eye opening and an input sensitivity of ?7.1 dBm at a bit error rate of 10^?12 with a 2⁹ ? 1 pseudo-random test pattern at 20 Gbps. The core circuit of the optical receiver occupies only an area of 0.02 mm².     

A Single-Ended Fully Integrated SiGe 77/79 GHz Receiver for Automotive Radar

A single-ended 77/79 GHz monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) receiver has been developed in SiGe HBT technology for frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) automotive radars. The single-ended receiver chip consists of the first reported SiGe 77/79 GHz single-ended cascode low noise amplifier (LNA), the improved single-ended RF double-balanced down-conversion 77/79 GHz micromixer, and the modified differential Colpitts 77/79 GHz voltage controlled oscillator (VCO). The LNA presents 20/21.7 dB gain and mixer has 13.4/7 dB gain at 77/79 GHz, and the VCO oscillates from 79 to 82 GHz before it is tuned by cutting the transmission line ladder, and it centres around 77 GHz with a tuning range of 3.8 GHz for the whole ambient temperature variation range from $- hbox{40},^{circ}{hbox{C}}$ to $+ hbox{125},^{circ}{hbox{C}}$ after we cut the lines by tungsten-carbide needles. Phase noise is $-$90 dBc/Hz@1 MHz offset. Differential output power delivered by the VCO is 5 dBm, which is an optimum level to drive the mixer. The receiver occupies 0.5 ${hbox{mm}}^{2}$ without pads and 1.26 ${hbox{mm}}^{2}$ with pads, and consumes 595 mW. The measurement of the whole receiver at 79 GHz shows 20–26 dB gain in the linear region with stable IF output signal. The input ${rm P}_{rm 1dB}$ of the receiver is $-$35 dBm.      

A 2.4 GHz CMOS Low-IF Receiver Front-End for WLAN Applications

A CMOS low-IF receiver front-end applied for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) is presented in this paper. The receiver front-end comprises a low noise amplifier (LNA), a down-converter, a single-to-fully converter, a polyphase filter, and a summator/subtractor. This low-IF architecture achieves 0.46° phase error and 0.7 dB gain mismatch in I–Q channels while the 2.4 GHz RF signal is down-converted into 100 MHz of IF band. The cascaded noise figure (NF) of LNA and polyphase network is 4.89 dB within the WLANs' requirement. The chip realized in a 0.6 m CMOS technology occupys 2.4 mm × 2.1 mm active area. From a single 3.3 V power supply, it consumes 300 mW power.     

L- and S-band low-noise cryogenic GaAs FETamplifiers

The authors present the results of the construction and testing of three cryogenic low-noise GaAs FET amplifiers, based on a National Radio Astronomy Observatory design, to be used in a detector for the axion, a hypothetical particle. The amplifiers are centered on 1.1 GHz, and 2.4 GHz, have a gain of approximately 30 dB in bandwidths of 300 MHz, 225 MHz, and 310 MHz, and have minimum noise temperatures of 7.8 K, 8 K, and 15 K, respectively     

A monolithic GaAs DC to 2-GHz feedback amplifier

Resistive feedback in low-frequency FET amplifiers is an attractive method of simultaneously attaining gain flatness and excellent input-output VSWR over wide bandwidths. Combined with simple matching circuitry, the feedback approach allows the design of general-purpose utility amplifiers requiring much less chip area than when conventional matching techniques are used. The 1.5- by 1.5-mm chip described in this paper provides 10-dB ± 1-dB gain, excellent input and output VSWR, and saturated output power in excess of + 20 dBm, from below 5 MHz to 2 GHz. The noise figure is approximately 2 dB when biased for minimum noise, with an associated gain of 9 dB.     

A $Q$ -Band Four-Element Phased-Array Front-End Receiver With Integrated Wilkinson Power Combiners in 0.18-$mu{{hbox{m}}}$ SiGe BiCMOS Technology

A four-element phased-array front-end receiver based on 4-bit RF phase shifters is demonstrated in a standard 0.18- $mu{{hbox{m}}}$ SiGe BiCMOS technology for $Q$-band (30–50 GHz) satellite communications and radar applications. The phased-array receiver uses a corporate-feed approach with on-chip Wilkinson power combiners, and shows a power gain of 10.4 dB with an ${rm IIP}_{3}$ of $-$13.8 dBm per element at 38.5 GHz and a 3-dB gain bandwidth of 32.8–44 GHz. The rms gain and phase errors are $leq$1.2 dB and $leq {hbox{8.7}}^{circ}$ for all 4-bit phase states at 30–50 GHz. The beamformer also results in $leq$ 0.4 dB of rms gain mismatch and $leq {hbox{2}}^{circ}$ of rms phase mismatch between the four channels. The channel-to-channel isolation is better than $-$35 dB at 30–50 GHz. The chip consumes 118 mA from a 5-V supply voltage and overall chip size is ${hbox{1.4}}times {hbox{1.7}} {{hbox{mm}}}^{2}$ including all pads and CMOS control electronics.      

A 52 GHz Phased-Array Receiver Front-End in 90 nm Digital CMOS

The commercial potential of the 60 GHz band, in combination with the scaling of CMOS, has resulted in a lot of plain digital CMOS circuits and systems for millimeter-wave application. This work presents a 90 nm digital CMOS two-path 52 GHz phased-array receiver, based on LO phase shifting. The system uses unmatched cascading of RF building blocks and features gain selection. A QVCO with a wide tuning range of 8 GHz is demonstrated. The receiver achieves 30 dB of maximum gain and 7.1 dB of minimum noise figure per path around 52 GHz, for a low area and power consumption of respectively 0.1 ${hbox{mm}}^{2}$ and 65 mW. The presented receiver targets 60 GHz communication where beamforming is required.      

Dual-Band Adjustable and Reactive I/Q Generator With Constant Resistance for Down- and Up-Converters

Adjustable and reactive in-phase/quadrature (I/Q) generators with constant resistance are proposed for the first time in this paper with the properties of low loss, dual-band implementation, and high quadrature accuracy. The quadrature phase property and input matching of the I/Q generator can be achieved at all frequencies simultaneously by the constant-resistance I/Q generator. However, the magnitude balance of the dual-band I/Q generator is achieved at two designed frequencies. A 2.4/5.2-GHz I/Q down-converter and a 2.4/5.7-GHz single-sideband up-converter are fabricated using 0.35- $mu{hbox{m}}$ SiGe BiCMOS technology. The dual-band I/Q generator along with two single-to-differential amplifiers is integrated to provide differential quadrature local oscillator signals for dual-band mixers. The magnitude imbalance and phase error between the I and Q channels of the down-converter are $≪$1% and $≪{hbox{1}}^{circ}$, respectively, while the maximum sideband rejection ratio of the up-converter is up to 50 dB. Additionally, the operation bandwidth (sideband rejection ratio $> $30 dB) is 200 MHz at 2.4 GHz and 720 MHz at 5.7 GHz.      

Surface-wave long delay lines

Recent results obtained with helical surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) delay lines of large time delay and bandwidth are described. Both unguided and guided propagation are involved, with time delays up to one millisecond and bandwidths up to 65 MHz being observed. Fiber delay lines of both capillary and cladded types are also discussed. The potential for future application of SAW delay lines of large time-bandwidth product to high-speed signal-and data-processing systems is considered.