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A 160-GHz low-noise downconversion receiver front-end in a SiGe HBT technology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2011

Erik Öjefors ,
Franck Pourchon ,
Pascal Chevalier  and
Ullrich R. Pfeiffer
Erik Öjefors*
Affiliation:
University of Wuppertal, Rainer-Gruenter-Strasse 21, D-42119 Wuppertal, Germany. Phone: +49 202 439 1453.
Franck Pourchon
Affiliation:
STMicroelectronics, 850 rue Jean Monnet, F-38926 Crolles, France.
Pascal Chevalier
Affiliation:
STMicroelectronics, 850 rue Jean Monnet, F-38926 Crolles, France.
Ullrich R. Pfeiffer
Affiliation:
University of Wuppertal, Rainer-Gruenter-Strasse 21, D-42119 Wuppertal, Germany. Phone: +49 202 439 1453.
*
Corresponding author: E. Öjefors Email: oejefors@uni-wuppertal.de
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Abstract

A 160-GHz SiGe-HBT (Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor) down-conversion receiver front-end for use in active millimeter-wave imaging arrays and D-band communication applications is presented. The monolithic front-end consists of a three-stage low-noise amplifier providing 24 dB of gain and a Gilbert-cell mixer capable of operating from a −8-dBm LO signal. A fully differential architecture compatible with balanced on or off-chip antennas is used to avoid the need for on-chip baluns in antenna-integrated applications. The implemented downconversion front-end consumes 50 mA from a 3.3 V supply and requires a 0.1 mm2 die area (excl. pads) per channel. With a 160-GHz input signal and an Intermediate Frequency (IF) of 1 GHz, the implemented front-end yields a 25-dB conversion gain, a −30-dBm input compression point, and a 9-dB/7-dB (with/without auxiliary on-chip input balun) system noise figure.

Keywords

Si-based DevicesIC TechnologiesLow NoiseCommunication Receivers
Type
Research Papers
Information
International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies , Volume 3 , Special Issue 3: Special Issue on European Microwave Week 2010 , June 2011 , pp. 347 - 353
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and the European Microwave Association 2011

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