W-band broadband integrated circuit mixers

Broadband integrated circuit mixers using a crossbar stripline configuration and a finline configuration have been developed. For the crossbar stripline balanced mixer, less than 7.5 dB conversion loss for 15 GHz instantaneous IF bandwidth has been achieved with the LO at 75 GHz and the RF swept from 76 to 91 GHz. For the finline balanced mixer, a conversion loss of 9 to 12 dB over a 19 GHz instantaneous IF bandwidth has been achieved as the RF is swept from 91 to 110GHz.     

140 GHz broadband crossbar stripline mixers with over 20 GHz instantaneous RF bandwidth

The letter presents the design and performance of a 140 GHz broadband crossbar stripline mixer using beam-lead diodes. With the LO fixed at 140 GHz, a conversion loss of 7?11 dB has been achieved with the RF swept from 140 to 160 GHz, and 6 to 8 dB with the RF swept from 133 to 147 GHz.     

Wideband microstrip balanced mixer

A novel microstrip balanced mixer circuit has been developed with over 40% bandwidth. The circuit uses two coupling rings for RF and LO inputs. A conversion loss of less than 8dB has been achieved for the RF frequency swept from 13 to 23 GHz with an LO signal at 25 GHz.     

94-GHz Beam-Lead Balanced Mixer

Using a newly developed GaAs beam-lead diode, we have developed and evaluated a balanced mixer at 94 GHz. The various components of the mixer were separately optimized using carefully designed low-frequency model studies as our primary design aid. These studies included the determination of guide impedance and guide wavelength for suspended stripline, and optimization of a waveguide to suspended stripline transition, low-pass filters, and diode location. This 94-GHz mixer exhibits an average single sideband (SSB) conversion loss of 6.2 dB over a 6-GHz RF bandwidth. Together with a bipolar IF amplifier, the system exhibits a 4.5-5.1-dB double sideband (DSB) noise figure over a 50-700-MHz IF bandpass. LO-to-RF isolation was greater that 27 dB over this range of operating frequencies. Finally, severe environmental test were successfully performed on the mixer between sucessive electrical characterization.     

High performance MM-wave balanced mixers for Ka band down converters

The design and development of mm-wave fin-line and crossbar suspended stripline balanced mixer with GaAs beamlead diodes for Ka-Band downconverters is described. A conversion loss of 5.9±0.6 dB over the frequency band 32 to 36 GHz has been achieved in a crossbar stripline structure, and 6.5±0.7 dB over the frequency band 26.5 to 40 GHz in a fin-line with suspended stripline structure. Integrated circuit components, such as suspended stripline filters and transitions were also developed.     

一种U 波段鳍线单平衡混频器的设计

本文介绍了一种U 波段鳍线单平衡混频器的设计过程并给出了测试结果。混频器使用M/A-COM 公司的肖特基势垒二极管MA4E2037,整个电路制作在一块厚度为0.127mm 的RT-Duroid 5880 软基片上。射频端口采用鳍线过渡,本振端口通过波导-微带探针过渡,中频通过SMA 接头输出。测试结果显示,鳍线悬置微带线结构的混频器在本振为42 GHz, 射频在40～60GHz 范围内变化时,其变频损耗小于8.71 dB,本振到射频的隔离度大于25dB。     

0.1 THz鳍线单平衡式基波混频电路研究

研究了一种基于石英基片的0.1 THz频段的鳍线单平衡混频电路,混频电路的射频和本振信号分别从WR10标准波导端口通过波导单面鳍线微带过渡和波导微带探针过渡输入,中频信号通过本振中频双工器输出。这是一种新型的混频电路形式,与传统的W波段混频器相比,混频电路可以省略一个复杂的W波段滤波器,具有电路设计简单、安装方便的特点。该电路使用两只肖特基二极管通过倒装焊工艺粘结在厚度为75 m的石英基片上,石英基片相对传统基板,可以极大提高电路加工精度。在固定50 MHz中频信号时,射频90~110 GHz范围内,0.1 THz混频器单边带变频损耗小于9 dB。     

Design and performance of a planar star mixer

This paper describes the realization of a hybrid star mixer as a planar circuit. The mixer has a minimum conversion loss of 5 dB and, for a conversion loss of less than 9 dB, spans over 2.2 GHz in IF bandwidth and 8 GHz in RF/LO bandwidth. The mixer employs a novel, planar balun structure, similar to conductor-backed CPW, that is suitable for realization as a monolithic circuit     

A subharmonic self-oscillating mixer with integrated antenna for60-GHz wireless applications

A balanced integrated-antenna self-oscillating mixer at 60 GHz is presented in this paper. The modal radiation characteristics of a dual-feed planar quasi-Yagi antenna are used to achieve RF-local oscillator (RF-LO) isolation between closely spaced frequencies. The balanced mixer is symmetric, inherently broad band, and does not need an RF balun. Pseudomorphic high electron-mobility transistors are used in a 30-GHz push-pull circuit to generate the second harmonic and a 30-GHz dielectric resonator was used to stabilize the fundamental oscillation frequency. This allows the possibility of building a balanced low-cost self-contained antenna integrated receiver with low LO leakage for short-range narrow-band communication. Phase locking can be done with half of the RF frequency. The circuit exhibits a conversion loss less than 15 dB from 60 to 61.5 GHz, radiation leakage of -26 dBm at 60 GHz, and IF phase noise of -95 dBc/Hz at 100-kHz offset     

A high-performance W-band uniplanar subharmonic mixer

A uniplanar subharmonic mixer has been implemented in coplanar waveguide (CPW) technology. The circuit is designed to operate at RF frequencies of 92-96 GHz, IF frequencies of 2-4 GHz, and LO frequencies of 45-46 GHz. Total circuit size excluding probe pads and transitions is less than 0.8 mm ×1.5 mm. The measured minimum single-sideband (SSB) conversion loss is 7.0 dB at an RF of 94 GHz, and represents state-of-the-art performance for a planar W-band subharmonic mixer. The mixer is broad-band with a SSB conversion loss of less than 10 dB over the 83-97-GHz measurement band. The measured LO-RF isolation is better than -40 dB for LO frequencies of 45-46 GHz. The double-sideband (DSB) noise temperature measured using the Y-factor method is 725 K at an LO frequency of 45.5 GHz and an IF frequency of 1.4 GHz. The measured data agrees well with the predicted performance using harmonic-balance analysis (HBA). Potential applications are millimeter-wave receivers for smart munition seekers and automotive-collision-avoidance radars     

W 波段单平衡混频器的设计

本文设计并制作了一种微带形式W 波段单平衡混频器。该混频器采用微带环形电桥结构,射频和本振信号分别从环形电桥的隔离端口由标准波导BJ-900 输入,经对脊鳍线微带波导过渡输入到微带电路,中频信号通过跳线方式连接并通过一段高阻抗线引出到输出口。该电路使用两只DMK2790 肖特基二极管制作在介电常数为2.2,厚度为0.127mm 的RT/Duriod5880 基片上,在固定本振94.5GHz,射频90GHz 到98GHz 范围内,变频损耗小于14.5dB。     

Ka-band monolithic GaAs balanced mixers

Monolithic integrated circuits have been developed on semi-insulating GaAs substrates for millimeter-wave balanced mixers. The GaAs chip is used as a suspended stripline in a cross-bar mixer circuit. A double sideband noise figure of 4.5 dB has been achieved with a monolithic GaAs balanced mixer filter chip over a 30- to 32-GHz frequency range. A monolithic GaAs balanced mixer chip has also been optimized and combined with a hybrid MIC IF preamplifier in a planar package with significant improvement in RF bandwidth and reduction in chip size. A double sideband noise figure of less than 6 dB has been achieved over a 31- to 39-GHz frequency range with a GaAs chip size of only 0.5 × 0.43 in. This includes the contribution of a 1.5-dB noise figure due to IF preamplifier (5-500 MHz).     

Compact 28-GHz subharmonically pumped resistive mixer MMIC using a lumped-element high-pass/band-pass balun

This work reports a novel lump-element balun for use in a miniature monolithic subharmonically pumped resistive mixer (SPRM) microwave monolithic integrated circuit. The proposed balun is simply analogous to the traditional Marchand balun. The coupled transmission lines are replaced by lump elements, significantly reducing the size of the balun. This balun requires no complicated three-dimensional electromagnetic simulations, multilayers or suspended substrate techniques; therefore, the design parameters are easily calculated. A 2.4-GHz balun is demonstrated using printed circuit board technology. The measurements show that the outputs of balun with high-pass and band-pass responses, a 1-dB gain balance, and a 5/spl deg/ phase balance from 1.7 to 2.45 GHz. The balun was then applied in the design of a 28-GHz monolithic SPRM. The measured conversion loss of the mixer was less than 11dB at a radio frequency (RF) bandwidth of 27.5-28.5 GHz at a fixed 1 GHz IF, a local oscillator (LO)-RF isolation of over 35 dB, and a 1-dB compression point higher than 9 dBm. The chip area of the mixer is less than 2.0 mm/sup 2/.     

60 GHz MMIC double balanced Gilbert mixer in mHEMT technology with integrated RF, LO and IF baluns

A 60 GHz MMIC double balanced Gilbert mixer (DBGM) with integrated RF, LO and IF baluns has been designed, fabricated in an mHEMT MMIC technology and characterised with probed measurements. Although a standard mixer topology for integrated circuits in the low gigahertz region, the DBGM has had very little impact in the millimetre-wave range. To the authors' knowledge, the presented DBGM operates at the highest RF frequency ever published for any FET-based Gilbert type mixer, double or single balanced. A measured down conversion gain of 1.5 dB at 60 GHz is obtained with a DC power consumption of 300 mW. Further, IF bandwidth, isolation between the LO, RF and IF ports, 1 dB compression point for the RF input, and LO input power is presented     

Ka-Band Monolithic GaAs Balanced Mixers

Monolithic integrated circuits have been developed on semi-insulating GaAs substrates for millimeter-wave balanced mixers. The GaAs chip is used as a suspended stripline in a cross-bar mixer circuit. A double sideband noise figure of 4.5 dB has been achieved with a monolithic GaAs balanced mixer filter chip over a 30- to 32-GHz frequency range. A monolithic GaAs balanced mixer chip has also been optimized and combined with a hybrid MIC IF preamplifier in a planar package with significant improvement in RF bandwidth and reduction in chip size. A double sideband noise figure of less than 6 dB has been achieved over a 31- to 39-GHz frequency range with a GaAs chip size of only 0.5x0.43 in. This includes the contribution of a 1.5-dB noise figure due to if preamplifier (5-500 MHz).     

InAlAs/InGaAs HBT X-band double-balanced upconverter

We report on an InAlAs/InGaAs HBT Gilbert cell double-balanced mixer which upconverts a 3 GHz IF signal to an RF frequency of 5-12 GHz. The mixer cell achieves a conversion loss of between 0.8 dB and 2.6 dB from 5 to 12 GHz. The LO-RF and IF-RF isolations are better than 30 dB at an LO drive of +5 dBm across the RF band. A pre-distortion circuit is used to increase the linear input power range of the LO port to above +5 dBm. Discrete amplifiers designed for the IF and RF frequency ports make up the complete upconverter architecture which achieves a conversion gain of 40 dB for an RF output bandwidth of 10 GHz. The upconverter chip set fabricated with InAlAs/InGaAs HBT's demonstrates the widest gain-bandwidth performance of a Gilbert cell based upconverter compared to previous GaAs and InP HBT or Si-bipolar IC's     

A Common Source Input Cross Coupled Quad CMOS Mixer*

A CMOS doubly balanced mixer circuit is implemented with a source follower input and a cross coupled mixing quad. The circuit employs an all N-channel configuration and is suitable for high frequency applications. As a down-converter with an RF input of 2.0 GHz and an IF output of 200 MHz, the mixer demonstrates 9 dB of conversion loss with a corresponding input referred third order intercept of 0 dBm. As an up-converter with an IF input frequency of 400 MHz and an RF output of 2.4 GHz, the mixer demonstrates 14 dB of conversion loss.     

A Q-band monolithic balance resistive HEMT mixer usingCPW/slotline balun

A Q-band balanced, resistive high-electron-mobility-transistor (HEMT) mixer has been developed for integration in monolithic millimeter-wave receivers. The mixer consists of two AlGaAs/GaAs HEMTs, a coplanar-waveguide (CPW)-to-slotline local oscillator (LO) balun, and an active IF balun. CPWs are used to eliminate the backside or via-hole process step, which increases the circuit yield and shortens the processing time. The conversion loss of the mixer while downconverting a 42-46-GHz RF to a 2.3-3.2-GHz IF is between 4 and 8 dB using an LO drive of 14 dBm. A 17.5-dBm input two-tone third-order intermodulation intercept point is achieved with an LO drive of 10.5 dBm, while a 5.5-dBm input, 1-dB compression point can be achieved with an LO drive of 14 dBm. This is the first reported monolithic CPW resistive HEMT mixer operating at Q-band frequencies     

一款集成驱动放大器的低变频损耗混频器设计

采用0.5μm GaAs工艺设计并制造了一款单片集成驱动放大器的低变频损耗混频器.电路主要包括混频部分、巴伦和驱动放大器3个模块.混频器的射频(RF)、本振(LO)频率为4～7 GHz,中频(IF)带宽为DC～2.5 GHz,芯片变频损耗小于7 dB,本振到射频隔离度大于35 dB,本振到中频隔离度大于27 dB.1 dB压缩点输入功率大于11 dBm,输入三阶交调点大于20 dBm.该混频器单片集成一款驱动放大器,解决了无源混频器要求大本振功率的问题,变频功能由串联二极管环实现,巴伦采用螺旋式结构,在实现超低变频损耗和良好隔离度的同时,保持了较小的芯片面积.整体芯片面积为1.1 mm×1.2 mm.     

Broadband single- and double-balanced resistive HEMT monolithicmixers

A double-balanced (DB) 3-18 GHz and a single-balanced (SB) 2-16 GHz resistive HEMT monolithic mixer have been successfully developed. The DB mixer consists of a AlGaAs/InGaAs HEMT quad, an active LO balun, and two passive baluns for RF and IF. At 16 dBm LO power, this mixer achieves the conversion losses of 7.5-9 dB for 4-13 GHz RF and 7.5-11 dB for 3-18 GHz RF. The SB mixer consists of a pair of AlGaAs/InGaAs HEMT's, an active LO balun, a passive IF balun and a passive RF power divider. At 16 dBm LO power, this mixer achieves the conversion losses of 8-10 dB for 4-15 GHz RF and 8-11 dB for 2-16 GHz RF. The simulated conversion losses of both mixers are very much in agreement with the measured results. Also, the DB mixer achieves a third-order input intercept (IP₃) of +19.5 to +27.5 dBm for a 7-18 GHz RF and 1 GHz IF at a LO drive of 16 dBm while the SB mixer achieves an input IP ₃ of +20 to +28.5 dBm for 2 to 16 GHz RF and 1 GHz IF at a 16 dBm LO power. The bandwidth of the RF and LO frequencies are approximately 6:1 for the DB mixer and 8:1 for the SB mixer. The DB mixer of this work is believed to be the first reported DB resistive HEMT MMIC mixer covering such a broad bandwidth