Ka-band ultra low voltage miniature sub-harmonic resistive mixer with a new broadside coupled Marchand balun in 0.18-μm CMOS technology

A Ka-band sub-harmonically pumped resistive mixer(SHPRM) was designed and fabricated using the standard 0.18-μm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor(CMOS) technology.An area-effective asymmetric broadside coupled spiral Marchand balance-to-unbalance(balun) with magnitude and phase imbalance compensation is used in the mixer to transform local oscillation(LO) signal from single to differential mode.The results showed that the SHPRM achieves the conversion gain of-15--12.5 dB at fixed fIF=0.5 GHz with 8 dBm LO input power for the radio frequency(RF) bandwidth of 28-35 GHz.The in-band LO-intermediate freqency(IF),RF-IF,and LO-RF isolations are better than 31,34,and 36 dB,respectively.Besides,the 2LO-IF and 2LO-RF isolations are better than 60 and 45 dB,respectively.The measured input referred P1dB and 3rd-order inter-modulation intercept point(IIP3) are 0.5 and 10.5 dBm,respectively.The measurement is performed under a gate bias voltage as low as 0.1 V and the whole chip only occupies an area of 0.33 mm2 including pads.     

Systematic design of 7‐to‐40‐GHz on‐chip mixer based on optimal impedance deviation coefficient

In this article, a 7‐GHz to 40‐GHz ultra‐wideband passive double‐balanced mixer MMIC using compact wideband Marchand balun (CWMB) is presented. The CWMB is analyzed and designed by introducing a novel optimal impedance deviation coefficient. A trade‐off between the needed bandwidth and the acceptable insertion loss in an ultra‐wideband passive‐doubly‐balanced mixer design can be made through introducing the optimal impedance deviation coefficient. Finally, to verify the proposed methodology, a compact wideband passive double‐balanced mixer monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) was designed and fabricated using a standard gallium arsenide (GaAs) pHEMT technology according to the process characteristics. Experimental results show that an ultra‐wideband mixer MMIC is realized from 7 GHz to 40 GHz (140% fractional bandwidth) with a measured conversion loss between 9.5 dB~12.5 dB (in‐band fluctuation less than 3 dB) and a LO‐to‐RF isolation larger than 34 dB. The measurement results are in good agreement with the simulation results.     

Nonlinear circuit stability under large‐signal pumping: Three‐port μ stability factor versus conversion matrix system identification—application to a millimeter‐wave band MMIC up‐converter

This article presents and discusses a method to determine stability in nonlinear three‐port circuits based on a generalized three‐port μ stability factor applied to linearized S parameters under large‐signal pumping. A comparison with an extension of the conversion matrix–based, system pole–zero identification used to analyze circuit stability is also presented. The relationship between the two techniques has been verified by means of an ideal two‐port nonlinear circuit, and then, it has been applied in the design of a three‐port millimeter‐wave Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) up‐converter. The circuit has been fabricated in a commercial GaAs process. On‐wafer measurements showed an average conversion loss about 3.5 dB in a RF bandwidth between 40.4 and 41.5 GHz with local oscillator (LO) frequency fixed at 42.5 GHz. A RF/LO isolation better than 25 dB was measured in the whole band, also showing outstanding intermodulation performance. With the proposed approach, the appearance of spurious oscillations was prevented. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2010.     

Folded down-conversion mixer for a 60 GHz receiver architecture in 65-nm CMOS technology

We present the design of a folded down-conversion mixer which is incorporated at the final down-conversion stage of a 60 GHz receiver. The mixer employs an ac-coupled current reuse transconductance stage. It performs well under low supply voltages, and is less sensitive to temperature variations and process spread. The mixer operates at an input radio frequency （RF） band ranging from 10.25 to 13.75 GHz, with a fixed local oscillator （LO） frequency of 12 GHz, which down-converts the RF band to an intermediate frequency （IF） band ranging from dc to 1.75 GHz. The mixer is designed in a 65 nm low power （LP） CMOS process with an active chip area of only 0.0179 mm^2. At a nominal supply voltage of 1.2 V and an IF of 10 MHz, a maximum voltage conversion gain （VCG） of 9.8 dB, a double sideband noise figure （DSB-NF） of 11.6 dB, and a linearity in terms of input 1 dB compression point （Pin, 1dB） of-13 dBm are measured. The mixer draws a current of 5 mA from a 1.2 V supply dissipating a power of only 6 roW.     

A design of 210 to 235 GHz fixed tuned mixer using planar Schottky diode

This paper presents the design of a fixed tuned 210 to 235 GHz subharmonic mixer (SHM). The mixer is designed using GaAs based planar antiparallel Schottky diode pair AP1/G2/0P95 from Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. 3D model of the Schottky diode is discussed and simulated to consider parasitic effects of the diode. Detailed design technique of each of its subsections as well as the integrated mixer circuit is presented. Nonlinear co‐simulation of the designed mixer exhibits double sideband (DSB) conversion loss less than 9.2 dB over the frequency band 210 to 235 GHz with 4 dBm of local oscillator (LO) power while the area of the rectangular printed section is 4.224 × 0.35 mm.     

LTCC‐based monolithic system‐in‐package (SiP) module for millimeter‐wave applications

A miniature LTCC system‐in‐package (SiP) module has been presented for millimeter‐wave applications. A typical heterodyne 61 GHz transmitter (Tx) has been designed and fabricated in a type of the SiP module as small as 36 × 12 × 0.9 mm³. Five active chips including a mixer, driver amplifier, power amplifier, and two frequency multipliers were mounted on the single LTCC package substrate, in which all passive circuits such as a stripline (SL) BPF, 2 × 2 array patch antenna, surface‐mount technology (SMT) pads, and intermediate frequency (IF) feeding lines have been monolithically embedded by using vertical and planar transitions. The embedded SL BPF shows the center frequency of 60.8 GHz, BW of 4.1%, and insertion loss of 3.74 dB. The gain and 3‐dB beam width of the fabricated 2 × 2 array patch antenna are 7 dBi and 36 degrees, respectively. The assembled LTCC 61 GHz Tx SiP module achieves an output power of 10.2 dBm and an up‐conversion gain of 7.3 dB. Because of the integrated BPF, an isolation level between a local oscillation (LO) and RF signal is below 26.4 dBc and the spurious level is suppressed by lower than 22.4 dBc. By using a 61 GHz receiver (Rx) consisting of off‐the‐shelf modules, wireless communication test was demonstrated by comparing measured IF spectrums at the Tx and Rx part.     

Self‐oscillating mixer using six port power divider

A self‐oscillating mixer (SOM) that uses a six port microstrip power divider is presented in this article. The oscillation and mixing functions are executed using a pair of identical GaAs field effect transistors. The power division and combination of the RF and local oscillator (LO) signals involved in the operation are implemented using the six port network. The RF input port of the proposed SOM is totally isolated from the operation of the LO which is a desirable feature in many applications. The proposed structure can work as a stand‐alone oscillator with a frequency of 4.71 GHz and a power level of 16.1 dBm. When fed with a RF signal, the proposed structure becomes a fully functional SOM exhibiting a conversion gain of 5.2 dBm. The simulation and measurement results of the proposed SOM are presented to validate the design concept. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 25:269–276, 2015.     

Ladder‐lattice bulk acoustic wave filters: Concepts,design, and implementation

This article presents a study of ladder‐lattice bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filters. First, a review of BAW technology and filters topologies is addressed. Next, a mixed ladder‐lattice BAW filter for application on W‐CDMA reception front‐ends (2.11–2.17 GHz) is presented. An improved solidly mounted resonators (SMR) technology was used for the filter implementation. The filter synthesis methodology is briefly described. Layout guidelines are discussed enabling an optimized filter design. The filter on‐wafer measurement results are as follows: ?3.55 dB of insertion loss, ?8.7 dB of return loss, an isolation higher than ?47 dB at the transmission band (1.92–1.98 GHz) and an improved selectivity (?30 dB at 2.14 GHz ± 60 MHz). Therefore, we can observe that the mixed topology combines the advantages of ladder and lattice networks, having very steep responses and an improved isolation at undesired bands. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2008.     

24GHz高线性低功耗CMOS混频器的设计

采用一种新颖的前馈补偿差分跨导结构和LC-tank折叠共源共栅技术设计了一种适用于汽车防撞雷达系统前端的24 GHz高线性低功耗CMOS下变频混频器,详细分析了Gilbert单元混频器的线性度指标和其优化技术。该混频器工作电压为1.8 V,射频信号为24.0 GHz,中频信号为100 MHz,采用TSMC 0.18μm RF CMOS工艺实现了电路仿真和版图的设计,仿真结果表明:该混频器IIP3可达4 dBm,增益为-9.2 dB,功耗为5.7 mW。     

A tunable balanced dual‐band BPF with quasi‐independently controlled center frequency and bandwidth

In this paper, a balanced dual‐band bandpass filter (BPF) with high selectivity and low insertion loss performance is presented by employing stub loaded resonators (SLRs) and stepped impedance resonators (SIRs) into balanced microstrip‐slotline (MS) transition structures. The balanced MS transition structures can achieve a wideband common‐mode (CM) suppression which is independent of the differential‐mode (DM) response, significantly simplifying the design procedure. Six varactors are loaded into the resonators to achieve the electrical reconfiguration. The proposed balanced dual‐band BPF can realize quasi‐independently tunable center frequencies and bandwidths. A tuning center frequency from 2.48 to 2.85 GHz and a fractional bandwidth (20.16%‐7.02%) with more than 15 dB return loss and less than 2.36 dB insertion loss are achieved in the first passband. The second passband can realize a tuning center frequency from 3.6 to 3.95 GHz with more than 12 dB return loss and less than 2.38 dB insertion loss. A good agreement between the simulated and measured results is observed.     

Ultra‐wide stopband low‐pass filter using symmetrical cascaded modified hairpin resonators

An elliptical function low‐pass filter (LPF) with ultra wide stopband and sharp cutoff frequency is proposed. This filter is composed of symmetrical cascaded modified hairpin resonators and U‐shaped resonators. The transition band is from 1 to 1.21 GHz with ?3 and ?20 dB, respectively. For this filter, the return loss is better than 17 dB in 80% of passband width, where the insertion loss is less than 0.3 dB. The band‐stop rejection is greater than 20 dB from 1.21 to 26.35 GHz and 40 dB from 1.35 to 12.5 GHz. To validate the design and analysis, the proposed LPF has been designed and fabricated on a 20 mil thick RO4003 substrate with a relative dielectric constant 3.38 and loss tangent of 0.0021. The filter is evaluated by experiment and simulation with a good agreement. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 24:314–321, 2014.     

Optimum design of 6‐18 GHz ultra‐wideband microstrip filters with arbitrary source and load impedances by the least mean squares Method

In this article, the method of least mean squares (LMS) is employed to design ultra‐wideband (UWB) filters with various input and output port impedances in 6‐18 GHz frequency range. Optimization process on the circuit dimensions is done by MATLAB and AWR microwave office softwares utilizing exact closed‐form relations for microstrip transmission lines and microstrip T‐junction discontinuities. The advantages of this method are its simplicity, fast design time, including impedance matching. Two design examples are depicted in the article. To validate the designed structures, the circuit model results are compared with full‐wave analysis and measurements. The first design example corresponds to equal source and load impedances. For this design, maximum measured transmission coefficient in the frequency range 5.9‐16.6 GHz is obtained as ?12 dB, upper out‐of‐band rejection around image frequency is better than ?17 dB and lower out‐of‐band rejection at 5 GHz is obtained better than ?30 dB. The second design example describes the case of unequal source and load impedances.     

A 60‐GHz single‐pole‐single‐throw switch in 65‐nm bulk CMOS

A single‐pole‐single‐throw (SPST) switch in a π‐network topology is designed in a 1.2‐V 65‐nm bulk CMOS RF process for millimeter‐wave applications in the 60‐GHz band from 57 to 66 GHz. The SPST switch with an active chip area of only 96 μm × 140 μm achieves the measured 11‐dB return loss, 1.6‐dB insertion loss, and 27.9‐dB isolation at 60 GHz. The SPST switch also shows the simulated power‐handling capability of 11.4 dBm and switching speed of 1 ns at 60 GHz. These results clearly demonstrate that the SPST switch in CMOS rivals the performance of SPST switches in GaAs and therefore has potential to be used in highly‐integrated 60‐GHz CMOS radios. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2011.     

A broadband coplanar waveguide to rectangular waveguide power divider using a slot

In this article, a broadband coplanar waveguide (CPW) to rectangular waveguide power divider using the dipole slot is proposed. The power divider consists of an input CPW port and two output rectangular waveguide ports. The CPW to rectangular waveguide power divider using the dipole slot has a return loss larger than 15 dB and an insertion loss equal to 3.08–3.27 dB in the whole X‐band (8.2–12.4 GHz). Furthermore, to broaden the bandwidth, the dipole slot is replaced by the bow‐tie slot. The CPW to rectangular waveguide power divider using the bow‐tie slot yields a return loss larger than 16 dB and an insertion loss equal to 3.05–3.29 dB from 8 to 13 GHz, which exceeds the X‐band. To verify our design, power dividers that use the dipole slot or the bow‐tie slot are fabricated and measured. The measurement results of both power dividers are in good agreement with the simulation results. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2013.     

A compact six port antenna for better spectrum utilization efficiency in cognitive radio applications

In this article, a novel six port antenna for better spectrum utilization efficiency in cognitive radio (CR) applications is presented. In this six port antenna system, an ultra‐wideband (UWB) sensing antenna and five wideband/narrowband (NB) antennas are integrated on the same substrate in a compact area of 1134 mm² . Antenna associated with port 1, which is meant for sensing, has ?10 dB reflection coefficient bandwidth of 3 to 11 GHz and the antennas associated with ports 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 have ?10 dB reflection coefficient bandwidths of 3.6 to 5.8 GHz (single band), 2.9 to 3.6 GHz and 5.4 to 7.98 GHz (dual band), 7.95 to 8.38 GHz and 9 to 9.85 GHz (dual band), 8.38 to 9 GHz (single band) and 9.7 to 10.7 GHz (single band), respectively. Minimum isolation of 20 dB is attained between UWB sensing antenna and any narrowband/wideband antenna except between the antennas associated with ports 1 and 2 where minimum isolation of 12 dB is achieved over the operating bandwidth of UWB sensing antenna. Moreover, among all wideband/narrowband antennas, isolation of less than 15 dB is achieved. More importantly, the narrowband and wideband antennas meant for communication cover all frequency bands in UWB and a good match between the simulated and measured results is noticed.     

A compact wide band textile MIMO antenna with very low mutual coupling for wearable applications

This communication presents a compact wide band wearable MIMO antenna with very low mutual coupling (VLMC). The proposed antenna is composed of Jeans material. Two “I” shaped stubs are connected in series and are employed on the ground plane between the two patches separated by 0.048 λ to increase isolation characteristics of the antenna‐port. The antenna covers frequency spectrum from 1.83 GHz to 8 GHz (about 125.5%) where the minimum port isolation of about 22 dB at 2.4 GHz and maximum of about 53 dB at 5.92 GHz are obtained. The envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) of the MIMO antenna is obtained to be less than 0.01 with a higher diversity gain (DG > 9.6) throughout the whole operating band. The proposed MIMO antenna is cost effective and works over a wide frequency band of WLAN (2.4‐2.484 GHz/5.15‐5.35 GHz/5.72‐5.825 GHz), WiMAX (3.2‐3.85 GHz) and C‐band downlink‐uplink (3.7‐4.2 GHz/5.925‐6.425 GHz) applications. Simulation results are in well agreement with the measurement results.     

3GHz～5GHz CMOS超宽带低噪声放大器设计

提出了一个低噪声、高线性的超宽带低噪声放大器(UWB LNA).电路由窄带PCSNIM LNA拓扑结构和并联低Q负载结构组成,采用TSMC 0.18 μm RFCMOS工艺,并在其输入输出端引入了高阶带通滤波器.仿真结果表明,在1.8V直流电压下LNA的功耗约为10.6 mW.在3 GHz～5 GHz 的超宽带频段内,...     

Miniaturized dual‐band slot antenna design for GPS,amateur radio and WLAN applications

In this article, miniaturization of dual‐band slot antenna design for GPS, WLAN and amateur radio applications is presented. The proposed dual‐band miniaturized antenna is achieved using slits, rectangular split ring and metallic strips fed by 50 Ω microstrip feed. The first resonant frequency is achieved by loading reference antenna with eight slits that is antenna 1 and the second resonant frequency is achieved by loading with one center slits and rectangular split ring that is antenna 2. Dual‐band antenna is achieved by loading reference slot antenna with nine slits and rectangular split ring which resonates at frequency of 1.52 and 3.03 GHz respectively. As a result, it is achieved 53.79% reduction in first band resonant frequency with 76.07% improvement in ?10 dB bandwidth and 7.90% reduction in second band resonant frequency compared to reference slot antenna. Further, this dual‐band antenna is miniaturized by metallic strips which are placed on the bottom of the substrate. This results in 61.39% reduction in first band resonant frequency with 32.07% improvement in ?10 dB bandwidth and 26.13% reduction in second band resonant frequency in comparison with reference slot antenna topology.     

Meander line MIMO antenna for 5.8 GHz WLAN application

A four port compact low profile planar MIMO antenna with meander line radiators and with polarization diversity effect has been proposed to cover 5.8 GHz wireless local area network application. The proposed MIMO antenna has ?10 dB impedance bandwidth of 1.4 GHz (5.3–6.7 GHz) along with the compact size of 38 × 38 mm² and an envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) of less than 4 × 10^?4 in the whole band. The proposed antenna resonates at 5.8 GHz frequency, having return loss of ?43.2 dB. The isolation between diagonal and opposite ports is more than 10 and 12 dB, respectively, in the presented frequency band. The total active reflection coefficient frequency response shows more than 1.0 GHz of bandwidth in the whole band. The antenna gain is more than 4.0 dBi in the operating frequency band. The radiating elements are very close to each other to make the design very compact.