An X-band Bi-Directional Transmit/Receive Module for a Phased Array System in 65-nm CMOS

Abstract

We present an X-band bi-directional transmit/receive module (TRM) for a phased array system utilized in radar-based sensor systems. The proposed module, comprising a 6-bit phase shifter, a 6-bit digital step attenuator, and bi-directional gain amplifiers, is fabricated using 65-nm CMOS technology. By constructing passive networks in the phase-shifter and the variable attenuator, the implemented TRM provides amplitude and phase control with 360° phase coverage and 5.625° as the minimum step size while the attenuation range varies from 0 to 31.5 dB with a step size of 0.5 dB. The fabricated T/R module in all of the phase shift states had RMS phase errors of less than 4° and an RMS amplitude error of less than 0.93 dB at 9–11 GHz. The output 1dB gain compression point (OP1dB) of the chip was 5.13 dBm at 10 GHz. The circuit occupies 3.92 × 2.44 mm2 of the chip area and consumes 170 mW of DC power.

A Full X-Band Phased-Array Transmit/Receive Module Chip in 65-nm CMOS Technology

“…2 to minimize the number of inductors required. In comparison with [13], [15], we designed a 5.625 • phase shift cell with BP and LP networks instead of switch to significantly enhance the operating frequency range. Inductors usually consume most of the chip area.…”

“…where a 2 = tan(φ 2 /2), b 2 = 1 + cos 2 (φ 2 /2), and c 2 = sin 2 (φ 2 /2). The value of φ 2 can be obtained from (15) and (16) with f 1 and f 2 as the frequency band of interest. The value of L and C for each network can then be easily calculated.…”

“…In this paper, we present a fully integrated TRM chip operating in full X-band (8 -12 GHz) in 65-nm CMOS technology. Compared with the previous work [15], the proposed TRM chip is designed to cover the full X-band by designing a broadband phase shifter, and a high-performance power amplifier is designed in the Tx path to achieve output power higher than 11 dBm. The implemented transceiver achieves an RMS phase error of less than 5 • , and an RMS attenuation error of less than 0.45 dB with linearity and noise performance comparable to the recently reported SiGe transceiver [3]- [10] and III-V TRM MMICs [1], [2], and with much lower power consumption.…”

“…Since the output power and the noise figure of the bidirectional transceiver with two-ports [13], [15] was limited by the performance of the BDGA, we implement a TRM chip with an SPDT switch to add PA and LNA separately. Also, the SPDT switch was used as a duplexer to select the Rx/Tx signal for bi-directional operation.…”

A Compact Ku-Band Active Electronically Steerable Antenna with Low-Cost 3D T/R Module

“…This significantly extends the mobility, flexibility, and economic efficiency of this special radar. It is well known that the successful implementation of a SAR demands a high performance active electronically steerable antenna (AESA), which is a vital and widespread technique that is commonly utilized in various military and civil applications, such as weather monitoring [5], aircraft surveillance [6], space satellite communication [7], and imagining [8]. To meet the stringent requirements of power and loading capacity for an airborne system, the AESA must be designed as compact and lightweight.…”