Sizing of multi-stage Op Amps by combining design equations with the gm/ID method

Analog integrated circuit design has as integral parts both analytical reasoning and numerical validation in the process from topology construction to sizing. Given a circuit topology, different circuit sizing results can be obtained from different processes of sizing inference. Sizing methods by simulation-based numerical searching have been a continuously studied subject. However, almost all approaches in this category require an overwhelming number of circuit simulations to arrive at an optimized sizing result. On the other hand, many published manual sizing methods by using the conventional device equations also require repeated SPICE simulations to correct the equation-based sizing results. This paper proposes a systematic gm/ID-based initial sizing method specifically customized for designing multiple-stage operational amplifiers (Op Amps). A main feature of the proposal is to use circuit-level design equations as constraints on the gm/ID table lookup method to substantially reduce the uncertainty in the sizing calculations. As a result, a significant amount of SPICE based correction work can be reduced to complete an initial sizing. The proposed sizing procedure includes a few regular sizing rules customized to the configuration of multi-stage Op Amps. We validate the proposed sizing method by application to several multi-stage Op Amp examples with a capacitive load or Miller compensation. Simulations have justified that the produced initial sizing results can achieve most of the prespecified design targets.     

Computer‐aided design methodology for linearity enhancement of multiwatt GaN HEMT amplifiers using multiple parallel devices

This article presents a design methodology for linearizing GaN HEMT amplifiers based on splitting a large FET into multiple parallel FETs with same total gate periphery and by biasing them individually. By varying the biases, the magnitude and the phase of the IMD3 components at the output of FET changes. A detailed simulation methodology using commercial microwave CAD software is presented. Simulation results show that by biasing one device in Class AB and other(s) in deep Class AB mode, IMD3 components of parallel FETs can be made out of phase to each other leading to cancellation and improvement in linearity. Three prototype circuits were simulated using (a) a single 5 mm FET (1 × 5 mm), (b) two parallel 2.5 mm FETs (2 × 2.5 mm), and (c) four parallel 1.25 mm FETs (4 × 1.25 mm), for a total gate periphery of 5 mm, over the frequency range of 0.8 to 1.0 GHz. IMD3 improvement up to 20 dBc was achieved with the 4 × 1.25 mm circuit when the FET biases were optimized. Measurement results show improvement in linearity up to 20 dBc for 4 × 1.25 mm circuit. The proposed method improves linearity without a substantial penalty on the power consumption and is straightforward to implement.     

A broadband filter with two transmission zeros adopting a new design method

A new design method was proposed in this article to insert transmission zeros in the broadband filters. In this method, the coupling line was connected to a certain position on the resonator. And then the coupling strength was adjusted by the connecting position. The open end of the resonator was hung and then the cross‐coupling was introduced to realize transmission zeros. This coupling method could add an adjustable parameter to improve the freedom of design and convenient to insert the transmission zeros. To verify this method, a highly selective coupled‐line microstrip filter with two transmission zeros was designed, fabricated, and measured. The measured results were in good agreement with the simulated ones. The return and insertion losses of the broadband filter were better than 18 and 2 dB, respectively. The relative bandwidth of the filter (FBW) was more than 68%. The rectangular coefficient (30 dB:1 dB) was less than 1.21.     

An efficient method of generating vortex electromagnetic wave based on double‐layer transmissive metasurface

A broadband double‐layer transmissive metasurface (TMS) for effective generate vortex electromagnetic wave is presented in this paper. The proposed TMS consists of two types of elements. The first element is composed of a multi‐resonant dipole and four metal vias. The metal vias increase the coupling strength between the upper and lower layers to improve transmission efficiency. On the basis of the first element, the second element adds stubs to ensure sufficient phase shift. The far‐field cross polarisation is eliminated by special element arrangement. Then, a centre‐fed linear polarisation TMS is designed to generate orbital angular momentum beams with mode l = ? 1. The proposed TMS is designed, manufactured and measured to verify the proposed design. The measured results indicate that a maximum gain of 20.8 dBi and narrow divergence angle of ±5° are achieved at 18 GHz. Furthermore, mode purity is higher than 86.1% within the 17 to 19 GHz band. The proposed double‐layer TMS saved costs, reduced weight and without assembly error is a good candidate for OAM generator.     

用宽带超表面产生阵列贝塞尔光束

通过在空间光调制器（SLM）上加载相位图或通过光刻加工微型圆锥状结构可以产生贝塞尔光束阵列。然而，典型空间光调制器具有比波长大一个数量级的像素尺寸，这限制了相位梯度的可用范围，用光刻法加工的微型锥透镜的顶端不是标准的圆锥，这影响了贝塞尔光束的质量。为了克服这些缺点，将复杂的相位图加载到电介质超表面上，设计了一种可以产生阵列贝塞尔光束（在波长700 nm处，NA=0.3）的超表面器件。该器件可以宽波段工作，其单元结构在波长580~800 nm范围内的偏振转换效率均超过57%。利用时域有限差分算法（FDTD）对该器件（厚度为380 nm，直径仅为40 μm）进行了仿真，所产生的阵列光束都垂直于超表面器件。所提出的阵列贝塞尔光束发生器具有纳米级别的厚度和几十微米的直径，这对于未来的集成光学领域具有很大的应用前景。     

Optimal design of Raman fibre amplifier based on terminal value optimization strategy and shuffled frog leaping algorithm

This paper introduces an evolutionary algorithm, Shuffled Frog Leaping Algorithm (SFLA), to solve the optimization problem in designing the multi-pumped Raman Fibre Amplifier (RFA). SFLA is a powerful optimizer tool because of its efficient mathematical expressions and global search capability. We utilize SFLA to determine the optimal pump wavelengths and pump powers by minimizing the gain ripple of RFA. To accelerate calculations, a terminal value optimization strategy (TVOS) is incorporated into the evolution of SFLA. This proposed strategy takes the terminal power values of pumps as the decision variables in optimization. Then, the optimal original power values of the pumps are obtained by solving the Power Coupled Equations once, without using the traditional method of repetitive guesses.The combination of SFLA and TVOS enhances the efficiency of optimization and accelerates calculation, while satisfying the design requirements of RFA.The simulation results show that nearly 65% of computational time has been saved compared with the traditional average power analysis. The 4-pumped C+L band of backward multi-pumped RFA with the average net gain of 0 dB, 1 dB and 2 dB are designed individually, where the gain ripple is less than 0.64 dB. The combination of SFLA and TVOS enhance the optimization efficiency and improve the performance of RFA with good gain profile.     

应用于车载激光雷达的宽带AGC跨阻放大器

针对车载激光雷达接收端脉冲信号脉宽窄、动态范围大等特点,提出了一种新型宽带、宽动态范围和高增益的自动增益控制(AGC)跨阻放大器。采用改进型调节型共源共栅结构作为输入级,拓展了带宽。使用改进型吉尔伯特单元作为可变增益放大器,进一步提高了带宽和增益。增加了AGC环路,提高了输入动态范围。基于标准 0.18 μm CMOS工艺进行设计与仿真,整体版图尺寸为760 μm×650 μm。仿真结果表明,该电路的-3 dB带宽为1.06 GHz,跨阻增益为80.79 dBΩ,输入动态范围为60 dB(1 μA~1 mA),功耗为47.6 mW,满足车载激光雷达接收机的要求。     

Broadband MIMO Antenna System for 5G Operations in Mobile Phones

A broadband 8‐antenna multiple‐input and multiple‐output (MIMO) system working for 5G new radio N77 (3.3‐4.2 GHz) in mobile terminals is proposed. In particular, each antenna element/unit consists of a monopole‐type meandered branch and an inverted U‐shaped self‐isolated antenna branch; and the antenna unit is fed by the meandered branch. The antenna unit has two resonances generated separately by each branch of the antenna unit. Since the monopole couples strongly with the self‐isolated antenna element that has the inherent self‐isolation characteristics, quite good isolation for the broadband 8‐antenna MIMO system can be obtained. The results such as antenna efficiency, radiation patterns, envelope correlation coefficient, and channel capacity are also presented.     

An Integrated Flexible All-Nanowire Infrared Sensing System with Record Photosensitivity

Infrared (IR) photodetectors are a key optoelectronic device and have thus attracted considerable research attention in recent years. Photosensitivity is an increasingly important device performance parameter for nanoscale photodetectors and image sensors, as it determines the ultimate imaging quality and contrast. However, photosensitivities of state-of-the-art low-dimensional nanostructure-based IR detectors are considerably low, limiting their practical applications. Herein, a biomimetic IR detection amplification (IRDA) system that boosts photosensitivity by several orders of magnitude by introducting nanowire field effect transistors (FETs), resulting in a peak photosensitivity of 7.6 × 10⁴ under an illumination of 1342 nm, is presented. Consequently, high-contrast imaging of IR light is obtained on the flexible IRDA arrays. The image information can be then trained and recognized by an artificial neural network for higher image-recognition efficiency. This work provides a new perspective for developing high-performance IR imaging systems, and is expected to undoubtedly enlighten future work on artificial intelligence and biorobotic systems.