Microwave noise characterisation of poly-emitter bipolar junction transistors

The microwave noise characteristics of poly-emitter bipolar junction transistors have been evaluated in a 0.8 mu m silicon BiCMOS process, at frequencies between 1 and 5.6 GHz and for collector currents between 0.5 and 15 mA. Using a small-signal model for the poly-emitter bipolar junction transistors, very good agreement has been obtained between measurements and calculations of both noise figure (F/sub MIN/) against frequency, and F/sub MIN/ against collector current. It is found that F/sub MIN/ was 2.3 dB at 1 GHz and 8.3 dB at 5.6 GHz for a collector current of 5 mA.<>     

80-GHz Tuned Amplifier in Bulk CMOS

An 80-GHz six-stage common source tuned amplifier has been demonstrated using low leakage (higher V_T) NMOS transistors of a 65-nm digital CMOS process with six metal levels. It achieves power gain of 12 dB at 80 GHz with a 3-dB bandwidth of 6 GHz, noise figures (NF's) lower than 10.5 dB at frequencies between 75 and 81 GHz with the lowest NF of 9 dB. IP_{1 dB} is -21 dBm and IIP3 is -11.5 dBm. The amplifier consumes 27 mA from a 1.2 V supply. At V_DD = 1.5 V and 33 mA bias current, NF is less than 9.5 dB within the 3-dB bandwidth and reaches a minimum of 8 dB at 80 GHz.     

L 波段宽带低温低噪声放大器的设计与测量*

高电子迁移率晶体管(HEMT)的小信号等效电路低温模型是研制致冷低噪声放大器(LNA)与研究晶 体管微波特性的基础。该文通过测量HEMT 器件在低温环境下直流参数与散射参数(S 参数),构建了包含噪声参 量的小信号等效电路,并据此设计了一款覆盖L 波段的宽带低温低噪声放大器(LNA),工作频率1 ~2GHz,相对带宽 达到66. 7%。在常温下放大器功率增益大于28dB,噪声温度小于39K;当环境温度制冷至11K 时,噪声温度为1. 9 ~3. 1K,输入输出端口的回波损耗S11 和S22 均优于-10dB,1dB 压缩点输出功率为9. 2dBm,功耗仅为54mW。     

An Active Recursive RF Filter in 0.35 μm BiCMOS

An active recursive filter approach is proposed for the implementaion of an inductorless, tuneable RF filter in BiCMOS. A test circuit was designed and manufactured in a 0.35 μm SiGe BiCMOS technology. In simulations, the feasibility of this type of filter was demonstrated and reasonably good performance was obtained. The simulations show a center frequency tuning range from 6 to 9.4 GHz and a noise figure of 8.8 to 10.4 dB depending on center frequency. Gain and Q-value are tunable in a wide range. Simulated IIP-3 and 1-dB compression point is ?26 and ?34 dBm respectively, simulated at the center frequency 8.5 GHz and with 15 dB gain. Measurements on the fabricated device shows a center frequency tuning range from 6.6 to 10 GHz, i.e. slightly higher center frequencies were measured than the simulated.     

G-band (140-220 GHz) and W-band (75-110 GHz) InP DHBT medium power amplifiers

We report common-base medium power amplifiers designed for G-band (140-220 GHz) and W-band (75-110 GHz) in InP mesa double HBT technology. The common-base topology is preferred over common-emitter and common-collector topologies due to its superior high-frequency maximum stable gain (MSG). Base feed inductance and collector emitter overlap capacitance, however, reduce the common-base MSG. A single-sided collector contact reduces C_ce and, hence, improves the MSG. A single-stage common-base tuned amplifier exhibited 7-dB small-signal gain at 176 GHz. This amplifier demonstrated 8.7-dBm output power with 5-dB associated power gain at 172 GHz. A two-stage common-base amplifier exhibited 8.1-dBm output power with 6.3-dB associated power gain at 176 GHz and demonstrated 9.1-dBm saturated output power. Another two-stage common-base amplifier exhibited 11.6-dBm output power with an associated power gain of 4.5 dB at 148 GHz. In the W-band, different designs of single-stage common-base power amplifiers demonstrated saturated output power of 15.1 dBm at 84 GHz and 13.7 dBm at 93 GHz     

3–10-GHz Ultra-Wideband Low-Noise Amplifier Utilizing Miller Effect and Inductive Shunt–Shunt Feedback Technique

In this paper, we demonstrate an SiGe HBT ultra-wideband (UWB) low-noise amplifier (LNA), achieved by a newly proposed methodology, which takes advantage of the Miller effect for UWB input impedance matching and the inductive shunt-shunt feedback technique for bandwidth extension by pole-zero cancellation. The SiGe UWB LNA dissipates 25.8-mW power and achieves S₁₁ below -10 dB for frequencies from 3 to 14 GHz (except for a small range from 10 to 11 GHz, which is below -9 dB), flat S₂₁ of 24.6 plusmn 1.5 dB for frequencies from 3 to 11.6 GHz, noise figure of 2.5 and 5.8 dB at 3 and 10 GHz, respectively, and good phase linearity property (group-delay variation is only plusmn28 ps across the entire band). The measured 1-dB compression point (P₁ dB) and input third-order intermodulation point are -25.5 and -17 dBm, respectively, at 5.4 GHz.     

Analysis of the transistor-related noise in integrated p-i-n-HBToptical receiver front-ends

The equivalent-input-noise-current spectral density for a monolithically integrated optical receiver front-end using InP/InGaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors and a p-i-n photodiode is computed from a small-signal model. Particular attention is paid to the contributions to the noise from the HBT in the first stage of the amplifier. It is shown that with transistors designed for 1-10-Gb/s receivers the base current shot noise dominates in the frequency range from 10 MHz to 1 GHz, and both the base resistance thermal noise and the collector current shot noise are important at higher frequencies. Device features which determine the extent of these noise sources are identified, and ways to improve the noise performance are discussed     

30-40-GHz drain-pumped passive-mixer MMIC fabricated on VLSI SOI CMOS technology

In this paper, a passive down mixer is proposed, which is well suited for short-channel field-effect transistor technologies. The authors believe that this is the first drain-pumped transconductance mixer that requires no dc supply power. The monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) is fabricated using digital 90-nm silicon-on-insulator CMOS technology. All impedance matching, bias, and filter elements are implemented on the chip, which has a compact size of 0.5 mm/spl times/0.47 mm. The circuit covers a radio frequency range from 30 to 40 GHz. At a RF frequency of 35 GHz, an intermediate frequency of 2.5 GHz and a local-oscillator (LO) power of 7.5 dBm, a conversion loss of 4.6 dB, a single-sideband (SSB) noise figure (NF) of 7.9 dB, an 1-dB input compression point of -6 dBm, and a third-order intercept point at the input of 2 dBm were measured. At lower LO power of 0 dBm, a conversion loss of 6.3 dBm and an SSB NF of 9.7 dB were measured, making the mixer an excellent candidate for low power-consuming wireless local-area networks. All results include the pad parasitics. To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first CMOS mixer operating at millimeter-wave frequencies. The achieved conversion loss is even lower than for passive MMIC mixers using leading edge III/V technologies, showing the excellent suitability of digital CMOS technology for analog circuits at millimeter-wave frequencies.     

Design and Performance of Microwave Amplifiers with GaAs Schottky-Gate Field-Effect Transistors

The design and performance of an X-band amplifier with GaAs Schottky-gate field-effect transistors are described. The amplifier achieves 20 /spl plusmn/ 1.3-dB gain with a 5.5-dB typical noise figure (6.9 dB maximum) over the frequency range of 8.0-12.0 GHz. The VSWR at the input and output ports does not exceed 2.5:1. The minimum output power for 1-dB gain compression is +13 dBm, and the intercept point for third-order intermodulation products is +26 dBm. The design of practical wide-band coupling networks is discussed. These networks minimize the overall amplifier noise figure and maintain a constant gain in the band.     

60-GHz SOI CMOS traveling-wave amplifier with NF below 3.8 dB from 0.1 to 40 GHz

In this paper, the design and the results of a CMOS traveling-wave amplifier (TWA) optimized for minimum noise figure is presented. Design tradeoffs and optimization guidelines for maximum operation frequency, gain and minimum noise are discussed by means of analytical calculations and simulations. The MMIC is fabricated using digital 90-nm silicon on insulator (SOI) technology and requires a chip area of only 0.3 mm/sup 2/. At a supply voltage of 2 V and a supply current of 66 mA, a gain of 9.7 dB/spl plusmn/1.6 dB is measured over a frequency range from 10 to 59 GHz. Toward dc, the gain increases up to 16 dB. The unity gain cutoff frequency is 71 GHz. At 20 and 40 GHz, the circuit has a 1-dB output compression point of 12.5 and 9.5 dBm, respectively. From 0.1 to 40 GHz, a noise figure below 3.8 dB is measured. The results are achieved at source/load impedances of 50 /spl Omega/ and include the pad parasitics. To the author's knowledge, the TWA has by far the lowest noise figure achieved for a silicon-based amplifier with comparable bandwidth.     

InAlAs/InGaAs/InP基PHEMTs小信号建模及低噪声应用

利用改进的小信号模型对采用100nmInAlAs/InGaAs/InP工艺设计实现的PHEMTs器件进行建模, 并设计实现了一款W波段单片低噪声放大器进行信号模型的验证。为了进一步改善信号模型低频S参数拟合差的精度, 该小信号模型考虑了栅源和栅漏二极管微分电阻, 在等效电路拓扑中分别用Rfs和Rfd表示.为了验证模型的可行性, 基于该信号模型研制了W波段低噪声放大器单片.在片测试结果表明:最大小信号增益为14.4dB@92.5GHz, 3dB带宽为25GHz@85-110GHz.而且, 该放大器也表现出了良好的噪声特性, 在88GHz处噪声系数为4.1dB, 相关增益为13.8dB.与同频段其他芯片相比, 该放大器单片具有宽3dB带宽和高的单级增益.     

A K-band down-conversion mixer with 1.4-GHz bandwidth in 0.13-/spl mu/m CMOS technology

A low power and low voltage down conversion mixer working at K-band is designed and fabricated in a 0.13/spl mu/m CMOS logic process. The mixer down converts RF signals from 19GHz to 2.7GHz intermediate frequency. The mixer achieves a conversion gain of 1dB, a very low single side band noise figure of 9dB and third order intermodulation point of -2dBm, while consuming 6.9mW power from a 1.2V supply. The 3-dB conversion gain bandwidth is 1.4GHz, which is almost 50% of the IF. This mixer with small frequency re-tuning can be used for ultra-wide band radars operating in the 22-29GHz band.     

A high-IP3 RF receiver chip set for mobile radio base stations upto 2 GHz

We present a monolithically integrated high third-order intercept point (IP3) radio frequency (RF) receiver chip set for mobile radio base stations up to 2 GHz, in a 25-GHz f_T Si bipolar production technology. The chip set consists of a RF preamplifier, active mixer circuits, and an intermediate frequency (IF) limiter. The preamplifier gain is 12 dB, the noise figure is 5.5 dB at 900 MHz, and the output (OIP3) is up to +24 dBm depending on supply voltage. The two different mixers provide a conversion gain of 1.5 dB up to 3 dB, an OIP3 in the range of +21 dBm up to +29 dBm, and a minimal single sideband (SSB) noise figure of 13 dB. The IF limiter shows an excellent limiting characteristic at 10 dBm output power and has a high bandwidth of more than 1 GHz     

长波长PIN／HBT集成光接收机前端噪声分析

文章研究磷化铟(InP)基异质结双极晶体管(HBT)和PIN光电二极管(PIN-PD)单片集成技术,利用器件的小信号等效电路详细计算了长波长PIN/HBT光电子集成电路(OEIC)光接收机前端等效输入噪声电流均方根(RMS)功率谱密度.分析表明:对于高速光电器件,当频率在100 MHz～2 GHz范围内时,基极电流引起的散粒噪声和基极电阻引起的热噪声起主要作用;频率大于5 GHz时,集电极电流引起的散粒噪声和基极电阻引起的热噪声起主要作用.在上述结论的基础上,文章最后讨论了在集成前端设计的过程中减小噪声影响的基本方法.     

Low-noise amplifier in 0.12 /spl mu/m standard CMOS technology for K-band

A K-band CMOS low-noise amplifier with a noise figure of 4.26 dB and a peak gain of 18.86 dB is presented. The low-noise amplifier has a peak gain frequency of 20.3 GHz and an input referred 1 dB compression point of -16 dBm. These are believed to be the lowest noise figure and highest gain values reported to date at these frequencies in a standard CMOS technology.     

A low-voltage ultra-wideband down-conversion mixer with improved power conversion gain

This article presents a wideband mixer using a TSMC 0.18?µm complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology process for ultra-wideband (UWB) system applications. The measured 3-dB radio frequency (RF) bandwidth is from 3 to 8.4?GHz with an intermediate frequency of 10?MHz. The measurement results of the proposed mixer achieve 8.1?dB average power conversion gain ?5?dBm input third-order intercept point (IIP3) at 7.4?GHz and 12.4–13.3?dB double side band noise figure. The total dc power consumption of this mixer including output buffers is 3.18?mW from a 1?V supply voltage. The output current buffer consumption is about 2.26?mW with an excellent local oscillator-RF isolation of up to 40?dB at 5?GHz. The article presents a mixer topology that is greatly suitable for low-power operation in UWB system applications.     

A variable gain amplifier with 50-dB control range for 900-MHz applications

A variable gain amplifier for 900-MHz applications has been designed and fabricated in a BiCMOS process with f/sub T/ = 24 GHz. The amplifier has linear-in-dB gain control with a 50-dB control range. The maximum gain is 28 dB and the third-order output intercept point (OIP3) is 13.7 dBm. The gain is achieved in one gain stage with a cascoded output. The amplifier bias network and the gain-control circuitry are temperature compensated for temperature-independent gain at any gain setting. The bias network also uses a feedback loop to cancel out undesired low frequencies present at the radio-frequency input. The maximum output power is +10 dBm and the output 1-dB compression point is +8.7 dBm. Active chip area is 0.1 mm/sup 2/. The amplifier is packaged in a SOT-363 and consumes 30 mA from a 2.8-V supply.     

A fully integrated 5.3-GHz 2.4-V 0.3-W SiGe bipolar power amplifier with 50-/spl Omega/ output

A radio frequency power amplifier for 4.8-5.7 GHz has been realized in a 0.35-/spl mu/m SiGe bipolar technology. The balanced two-stage push-pull power amplifier uses two on-chip transformers as input-balun and for interstage matching. Further, it uses three coils for the integrated LC-output balun and the RF choke. Thus, the power amplifier does not require any external components. At 1.0-V, 1.5-V, and 2.4-V supply voltages, output powers of 17.7 dBm, 21.6 dBm, and 25 dBm are achieved at 5.3 GHz. The respective power-added efficiencies (PAE) are 15%, 22%, and 24%. The small-signal gain is 26 dB. The output 1-dB compression point at 2.4 V is 22 dBm with a PAE of 14%.     

A 0.6-V 1.6-mW transformer-based 2.5-GHz downconversion mixer with +5.4-dB gain and -2.8-dBm IIP3 in 0.13-/spl mu/m CMOS

On-chip transformers are best suited to lower the supply voltage in RF integrated circuits. A design method to achieve a high current gain with an on-chip transformer operating in resonance is presented. The proposed method will be proven analytically and has been applied to a downconversion mixer. Thereby part of the overall gain of the mixer has been shifted from the RF input stage to the transformer. Thus, the power consumption has been reduced and, in spite of the low supply voltage, moderate linearity has been achieved. Although the transformer has a bandpass behavior, a 3-dB bandwidth of 900 MHz at a center frequency of 2.5 GHz has been achieved. The downconversion mixer has been realized in 0.13-mum CMOS. It consumes 1.6 mW from a 0.6-V supply. A gain of +5.4 dB, a third-order intercept point of -2.8 dBm, an input 1-dB compression point of -9.2 dBm, and a single-sideband noise figure of 14.8 dB have been achieved     

60-GHz-band coplanar MMIC active filters

This paper presents the design and performance of 60-GHz-band coplanar monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) active filters. To compensate for the loss of the passive filter, a resonator composed of a quarter-wavelength line is terminated by a circuit with a constant negative resistance over a wide frequency band. Cross-coupling is introduced to make the attenuation poles on both sides of the passband. We develop two types of two-stage filter: one with medium bandwidth and the other with narrow bandwidth. The former shows an insertion loss of 3.0 dB with a 3-dB bandwidth of 2.6 GHz and a rejection of larger than 20 dB at a 3-GHz separation from a center frequency of 65.0 GHz. This filter also shows a noise figure of 10.5 dB. The latter filter shows an insertion loss of 2.8 dB with a 10-dB bandwidth of 2.1 GHz at a center frequency of 65.0 GHz. It also shows an output power of 5.0 dBm at a 1-dB compression point. The loss variation due to temperature variation is successfully compensated using a gate bias control circuit. The size of the MMIC filters is 2.5 mm/spl times/1.1 mm.