A 130 nm-SiGe-BiCMOS Low-Power Receiver Based on Distributed Amplifier Techniques for Broadband Applications From 140 GHz to 200 GHz

Abstract

This work presents a direct-conversion receiver for G-band applications formed by a cascaded single-stage distributed amplifier optimized for low noise, a single-balanced active mixer with inductive peaking and broadband RF matching, and a local oscillator (LO) driver. The receiver is optimized for reduced DC and LO power consumption, while practical levels of linearity and noise are retained. Prototypes of the complete receiver and of the stand-alone mixer are implemented in 0.62 mm 2 and 0.39 mm 2 of a 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS technology with 450 GHz maximum-oscillation frequency. The measured receiver saturated gain in LO compression is 17 dB with a 6 dB band of 60 GHz and a 3 dB band of 30 GHz, while the input power which compresses the gain by 1 dB (P in1dB ) is −35 dBm. The simulated receiver double-sideband noise figure is 11 dB. Finally, the circuit requires an LO power of −17 dBm at 170 GHz and a DC power of 98 mW. The measured gain of the mixer is −13 dB with a 3 dB band of 70 GHz. The component P in1dB is −20 dBm for −18 dBm LO power and 53 mW DC power. These circuits offer one of the largest operation bandwidth together with one of the lowest DC and LO power consumption against the state of the art.

A review on single crystal and thin film Si–Ge alloy: growth and applications

“…Subsequently, circuit designers have unearthed that this alloy is more efficient than pristine silicon in terms of performance and power consumption, while also intensifying the oscillating and frequency competences of a device. 154–165…”

“…Subsequently, circuit designers have unearthed that this alloy is more efficient than pristine silicon in terms of performance and power consumption, while also intensifying the oscillating and frequency competences of a device. [154][155][156][157][158][159][160][161][162][163][164][165] Thus, the benefits of Si-Ge include Power saving and high performance Numerous possible ways of integration Reduced size Enhanced electronic mobility High oscillating and frequency capability Overall low component cost High temperature thermoelectric performance The enhanced electronic mobility in Si-Ge in comparison to Si has managed its place in consumer electronics, telecommunication, computer technologies, space, and aerospace devices.…”

A Wideband and Low-Power Distributed Cascode Mixer Using Inductive Feedback

“…As the demand for wideband transceivers increases, research studies to obtain wideband characteristics by adopting a distributed amplifier design to not only amplifiers such as power amplifiers (PAs) and low noise amplifiers (LNAs), but also other RF components such as mixers, doublers, switches, and true-time delay circuits are being actively conducted [12][13][14][15][16][17][18].…”