Publikationen 2017

Script list Publications

(1) Design and Characterization of Series and Corporate Feed Differential Arrays for Broadband 60 GHz Radar Applications
W. Ahmad, J. Lu, R. Hasan, D. Kissinger, H.J. Ng
Proc. European Microwave Conference (EuMC 2017), 244 (2017)
This paper provides a comparison between differential broadband series-fed and corporate-fed 4-element arrays at 60 GHz band to equip multi-channel radar. Radiator lengths are perturbed in the series-fed array to widen the bandwidth, while parasitic structures are inserted in the corporate-fed array. Measurement showed beam squinting from -3º to 19º over 60-64 GHz and narrow beam width for the compact series-fed array, while the large corporate-fed array has fixed beam direction but wider. This opens the possibility of inherent beam steering by series-fed arrays for radar applications.

(2) Beam Squinting in Wideband 60 GHz On-Board Series-Fed Differential Patch Arrays
W. Ahmad, J. Lu, D. Kissinger, H.J. Ng
Proc. Asia Pacific Microwave Conference (APMC 2017), Tu1C1 (2017)

(3) DAC-Less 32-GBd PDM-256-QAM Using Low-Power InP IQ Segmented MZM
A. Aimone, F. Frey, R. Elschner, I. Garcia Lopez, G. Fiol, P. Rito, M. Gruner, A.C. Ulusoy, D. Kissinger, J.K. Fischer, C. Schubert, M. Schell
IEEE Photonics Technology Letters 29(2), 221 (2017)
We demonstrate DAC-less generation and transmission of 256-quadrature amplitude modulation signals at a symbol rate of 32 GBd using an indium phosphide segmented
Mach–Zehnder modulator with 15 active sections and dedicated BiCMOS driver arrays. The linear quantization characteristic of the segmented modulator with 4-bit resolution allows the
generation of spectrally efficient modulation formats without any transmitter side signal processing. The chip power consumption of 1.64 Wtranslates into the record-low energy per bit of 6.4 pJ/b. Back-to-back performance is evaluated and two different lowdensity
parity check codes enable error-free transmission over 80 and 120 km with a net data rate of 320 and 240 Gb/s, respectively.

(4) Evaluation of the Pulse Stretcher for Detection of Very Short Single Event Transients
M. Andjelkovic, M. Nenadovic, V. Petrovic, M. Krstic, R. Kraemer
Proc. 5th International Conference on Radiation and Applications in Various Fields of Research (RAD 2017), 217 (2017)

(5) Entwurf eines On-Chip-Systems für die Messung der Breite von SET-Pulsen
M. Andjelkovic, V. Petrovic, M. Nenadovic, G. Schoof, M. Krstic
Proc. ITG/GI/GMM-Workshop Testmethoden und Zuverlässigkeit von Schaltungen und Systemen (TuZ 2017), 49 (2017)

(6) Design of an On-Chip System for the SET Pulse Width Measurement
M. Andjelkovic, V. Petrovic, M. Nenadovic, A. Breitenreiter, M. Krstic, R. Kraemer
Proc. EUROMICRO Conference on Digital Systems Design (DSD 2017), 111 (2017)
(REDOX)

(7) A Broadband 10-95 GHz Variable Gain Amplifier in SiGe
A. Bauch, M. Dietz, R. Weigel, A. Hagelauer, D. Kissinger
Proc. 12th European Microwave Integrated Circuits Conference (EuMIC 2017), 155 (2017)

(8) Broadband Multi-Octave Receiver from 1-32 GHz for Monolithic Integrated Vector Network Analyzers (VNA) in SiGe-Technology
M. Dietz, T. Girg, A. Bauch, K. Aufinger, A. Hagelauer, D. Kissinger, R. Weigel
Proc. 12th European Microwave Integrated Circuits Conference (EuMIC 2017), 49 (2017)

(9) 216-256 GHz Fully Differential Frequency Multiplier-by-8 Chain with 0dBm Output Power
M.H. Eissa, A. Malignaggi, M. Ko, J. Borngräber, K. Schmalz, A.C. Ulusoy, D. Kissinger
Proc. 12th European Microwave Integrated Circuits Conference (EuMIC 2017), 216 (2017)
(DFG-THz LoC)
This work presents a fully-differential wideband and low power 240 GHz multiplier-by-8 frequency source, manufactured in a standard 130nm SiGe:C BiCMOS technology with fT / fmax = 300 / 500 GHz. A 30 GHz input signal is multiplied by 8 using a Gilbert cell based quadrupler and doubler and then amplified with 3-stage cascode amplifier. To achieve wide bandwidth and optimize for power consumption, the power budget has been designed in order to operate the frequency multipliers and the output amplifier in saturation. With this architecture the presented circuit achieves a 3 dB bandwidth of 40 GHz, with a relative 3 dB bandwidth of 17 %, and a peak saturated output power of 0 dBm. It dissipates 255mW from 3V supply which results in drain efficiency of 0.4 %, while occupying 1.2mm2.With these characteristics the presented circuit suits very well as a frequency source to drive balanced mixers in 240 GHz transceivers for radar, communication and sensing applications .

(10) A 220-275 GHz Direct-Conversion Receiver in 130-nm SiGe:C BiCMOS Technology
M.H. Eissa, A. Awny, M. Ko, K. Schmalz, M. Elkhouly, A. Malignaggi, A.C. Ulusoy, D. Kissinger
IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters 27(7), 675 (2017)
This work presents a wideband 240GHz directconversion receiver manufactured in 130 nm SiGe:C BiCMOS technology with fT /fmax=300/500GHz. A mixer-first receiver architecture is implemented with a DC offset cancellation loop to compensate for the mixer DC offsets and mismatches and for biasing purposes. A transimpedance amplifier is utilized as a load for the mixer to maximize the bandwidth. A local oscillator chain which multiplies by 8 a 30GHz input signal drives the mixer. The proposed receiver achieves the widest 3-dB bandwidth among published works of 55GHz, with a conversion gain of 13 dB. The measured average single-side-band noise figure (NFSSB) is 18 dB. It consumes 500mW, while occupying 1.25mm2, requiring a 30GHz LO input signal of only -10 dBm.


(11) Low-Power and Low-Noise Programmable Frequency Dividers in a 130nm SiGe BiCMOS Technology
A. Ergintav, F. Herzel, J. Borngräber, H.J. Ng, D. Kissinger
Proc. 15th IEEE International New Circuits And Systems Conference (NEWCAS 2017), 105 (2017)
(Benchmarking Circuits/Radar Systems)
Two low-noise programmable frequency dividers for fractional-N frequency synthesizers are presented. The input frequency range is from 1GHz to 10GHz for both circuits, which were manufactured in a 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS technology. The first divider (divider1) has divisor values ranging from 32 to 127 and operates with a single supply voltage VCC between 2.2V and 4V, while the divisor value range for the second one (divider2) is from 32 to 63 and the supply voltage operational range is between 3.0V- 3.6V. The divider1 and divider2 draws 100mA from a 2.5V supply and 26mA from a 3V supply, respectively. The measured phase noise at 1MHz offset from a 300MHz CMOS output signal is as low as -147 dBc/Hz for divider1, and noise at the same offset from a 350MHz CMOS output is -148 dBc/Hz for divider2. The dividers’ phase noise contribution referred to the output of a 10GHz PLL is lower than -108 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz offset and -116.5 dBc/Hz at 1MHz offset. This makes the dividers suitable for low-noise fractional-N phase-locked loops using a conventional CMOS phase-frequency detector.

(12) An Integrated 240GHz Differential Frequency Sixtupler in SiGe BiCMOS Technology
A. Ergintav, F. Herzel, J. Borngräber, D. Kissinger, H.J. Ng
Proc. IEEE Topical Meeting on Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems (SiRF 2017), 43 (2017)
(Benchmarking Circuits/Radar Systems)
An integrated frequency sixtupler in SiGe BiCMOS technology is presented. It is composed of a nonlinear differential amplifier used as a frequency tripler followed by a Gilbert mixer used as a frequency doubler. The 3dB bandwidth of the circuit is 15GHz in between 222-237GHz range with peak output power of -4dBm for 0dBm input power. The suppression of the 120GHz feed through signal at the mixer output is better than 14dB while the 5th and the 7th harmonics are suppressed by more than 18dB. The circuit consumes 900mW from a 4.7V supply. It is preceded by a differential amplifier functioning as an active balun to generate differential signals for the tripler.

(13) An Integrated 122GHz Differential Frequency Doubler with 37GHz Bandwidth in 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS Technology
A. Ergintav, F. Herzel, J. Borgräber, D. Kissinger, H.J. Ng
Proc. IEEE MTT-S International Conference on Microwaves for Intelligent Mobility (ICMIM 2017), 53 (2017)
(Benchmarking Circuits/Radar Systems)
This paper describes an integrated frequency multiplier, implemented as a Gilbert cell based frequency doubler in a 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS technology. The circuit demonstrates a 3 dB bandwidth of 97 - 134GHz with peak output power of 1 dBm for 1 dBm input power. The fundamental suppression, measured at the single-ended output, is better than 21 dBc while the frequency doubler consumes 69mW from a 3.3V supply. The doubler is preceded by a differential amplifier functioning as an active balun to a generate differential signal for the Gilbert cell.

(14) A 40 Gb/s PAM-4 Monolithically Integrated Photonic Transmitter in 0.25 μm SiGe:C BiCMOS EPIC Platform
I. Garcia Lopez, P. Rito, D. Petousi, L. Zimmermann, M. Kroh, St. Lischke, D. Knoll, A. Awny, A.C. Ulusoy, D. Kissinger
Proc. IEEE Topical Meeting on Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems (SiRF 2017), 30 (2017)
(SPEED)

(15) A 60 GHz Bandwidth Differential Linear TIA in 130 nm SiGe:C BiCMOS with < 5.5 pA/√Hz
I. Garcia Lopez, A. Awny, P. Rito, M. Ko, A.C. Ulusoy, D. Kissinger
Proc. IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting (BCTM 2017), 114 (2017)

(16) DAC-Free Ultralow-Power Dual-Polarization 64-QAM Transmission at 32 GBd with Hybrid InP IQ SEMZM and BiCMOS Drivers Module
I. Garcia Lopez, A. Aimone, S. Alreesh, P. Rito, T. Brast, V. Höhns, G. Fiol, M. Gruner, J.K. Fischer, J. Honecker, A.G. Steffan, D. Kissinger, A.C. Ulusoy, M. Schell
IEEE Journal of Lightwave Technology 35(3), 404 (2017)
A hybrid transmitter module comprising a 15-segment InP IQ segmented Mach–Zehnder modulator and two 0.13 μm BiCMOS SiGe:C drivers with integrated 4-bit DAC functionality
is described. The high-resolution prototype allows a wide range ofmodulation formats and, for the first time, ultralow-power dual-polarization (DP) 64-QAM signal generation at record speed
of 32 GBd without the usage of external DACs is demonstrated. The DP 64-QAM signal is transmitted error free over 80 km of SSMF with 7.8 pJ/bit/polarization energy consumption. Post-FEC BER results are presented, with more than 226 bits decoded without errors after four decoding iterations. The package footprint is 28 mm × 76 mm. These results evidence the advantage of the proposed arrangement for the next generation low-power high-speed
optical transceivers.

(17) PAM-4 Receiver with Integrated Linear TIA and 2-bit ADC in 0.13 µm SiGe:C BiCMOS for High-Speed Optical Communications
I. Garcia Lopez, P. Rito, A.C. Ulusoy, A. Awny, D. Kissinger
Proc. IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS 2017), 582 (2017)
(SPEED)
This paper presents the design and electrical characterization of an optical receiver and demodulator for PAM-4 encoded data signals. The prototype, fabricated in a 0.13 µm    SiGe:C BiCMOS technology, comprises a linear TIA input stage followed by a 2 bit flash ADC, and is designed to support up to 100 Gb/s data rate while dissipating 650 mW of average power. The TIA stage was independently characterized, featuring 54 dB Ω differential transimpedance, 3-dB bandwidth of 60 GHz and less than 12 pA/√Hz average input referred current noise density. The complete module was measured to receive up to 24 GBd (setup-limited) PAM-4 PRBS7 data signals at a BER of 4·10-12 and 1·10-13 for the LSB and MSB, respectively, with input amplitude as low as 580 µApp. Clear NRZ eye diagrams up to 50 Gb/s are also reported, which demonstrate the high-speed operation capability. The integration of both TIA and dedicated ADC in the same chip allows for a custom design, optimized in terms of power dissipation and footprint, for the next generation optical transceivers.

(18) A Review on Passive and Integrated Near-Field Microwave Biosensors
S. Guha, F.I. Jamal, Ch. Wenger
Biosensors (MDPI) 7, 42 (2017)
(EXASENS)
In this paper we review the advancement of passive and integrated microwave biosensors.
The interaction of microwave with biological material is discussed in this paper. Passive microwave biosensors are microwave structures, which are fabricated on a substrate and are used for sensing biological materials. On the other hand, integrated biosensors are microwave structures fabricated in standard semiconductor technology platform (CMOS or BiCMOS). The CMOS or BiCMOS sensor technology offers a more compact sensing approach which has the potential in the future for point of care testing systems. Various applications of the passive and the integrated sensors have been discussed in this review paper.

(19) Design and Layout Strategies for Integrated Frequency Synthesizers with High Spectral Purity
F. Herzel, D. Kissinger
International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies (IJMWT) 9(9), 1791 (2017)
(Benchmarking Circuits/Radar Systems)
Design guidelines for fractional-N phase-locked loops with a high spectral purity of the output signal are presented. Various
causes for phase noise and spurious tones (spurs) in integer-N and fractional-N phase-locked loops (PLLs) are briefly
described. These mechanisms include device noise, quantization noise folding, and noise coupling from charge pump (CP)
and reference input buffer to the voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) and vice versa through substrate and bondwires.
Remedies are derived to mitigate the problems by using proper PLL parameters and a careful chip layout. They include a
large CP current, sufficiently large transistors in the reference input buffer, linearization of the phase detector, a high
speed of the programmable frequency divider, and minimization of the cross-coupling between the VCO and the other building
blocks. Examples are given based on experimental PLLs in SiGe BiCMOS technologies for space communication and wireless
base stations.

(20) Modeling of Range Accuracy for a Radar System Driven by a Noisy Phase-Locked Loop
F. Herzel, H.J. Ng, D. Kissinger
Proc. IEEE European Radar Conference (EuRAD 2017), 521 (2017)
(Benchmarking Circuits/Radar Systems)

(21) Integrated Frequency Synthesizers in SiGe BiCMOS with High Spectral Purity
F. Herzel, D. Kissinger
Proc. 19th Analog Workshop Berlin 2017, abstr. book, 21 (2017)
(Benchmarking Circuits/Radar Systems)

(22) An Integrated Frequency Synthesizer in 130nm SiGe BiCMOS Technology for 28/38GHz 5G Wireless Networks 
F. Herzel, M. Kucharski, A. Ergintav, J. Borngräber, H.J. Ng, J. Domke, D. Kissinger
Proc. 12th European Microwave Integrated Circuits Conference (EuMIC 2017), 236 (2017)
(Benchmarking Circuits/Radar Systems)

(23) Design of a Low-Jitter Wideband Frequency Synthesizer for 802.11ad Wireless OFDM Systems Using a Frequency Sixtupler
F. Herzel, A. Ergintav, J. Borngräber, H.J. Ng, D. Kissinger
Proc. IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS 2017), 2783 (2017)
(Benchmarking Circuits/Radar Systems)
The rms timing jitter of a phase-locked loop (PLL) is calculated and minimized analytically from the VCO phase noise and the in-band phase noise plateau with and without digital baseband correction in an OFDM system. Subsequently, we present an integrated wideband frequency synthesizer in a 130nm SiGe BiCMOS technology. An 8.7GHz-11.8GHz PLL using only one VCO is followed by a frequency sixtupler composed of a tripler and a doubler. The measured phase noise at 1MHz offset from the 10GHz PLL output frequency is below -108dBc/Hz. For a 60GHz OFDM system, this corresponds to an rms phase error of 1.5 degrees and a PLL rms jitter of 70fs after common phase error correction. The synthesizer chip occupies a chip area of 3.6mm2 and draws 144mA from a 3.3V supply.

(24) Phase Noise Analysis of a Homodyne Radar System Driven by a Phase-Locked Loop
F. Herzel, D. Kissinger
Proc. IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS 2017), 806 (2017)
(Benchmarking Circuits/Radar Systems)
An analytical model is presented to calculate phase noise spectrum and jitter of a radar system driven by a phase-locked loop (PLL). The high-pass filtered phase noise of the voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) is modelled as an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process. For a triangular FMCW frequency sweep, a non-stationary process is used to calculate the PLL output phase. A condition for the loop filter capacitance is derived for which the phase noise is a stationary Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process from the beginning of a frequency sweep. For the stationary case, phase noise spectrum, rms phase jitter and rms frequency jitter at the receiver output are calculated analytically. The effect of noise cancellation in the radar receiver on phase noise and jitter is discussed as a function of basic PLL parameters and target distance.

(25) An Active Balanced Up-Converter Module in InP-on-BiCMOS Technology
M. Hossain, Ch. Meliani, M.I. Schukfeh, N. Weimann, M. Lisker, V. Krozer, W. Heinrich
Proc. IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS 2017), 953 (2017)
(SciFab)
This paper presents an active up-converter realized as hetero-integrated module in InP-on-BiCMOS technology. It consists of a fundamental Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) in 0.25 μm BiCMOS technology and a frequency multiplier fol-lowed by double balanced Gilbert mixer cell in 0.8 μm transferred substrate (TS) InP-HBT technology, which is integrated on top of the BiCMOS MMIC. The fundamental VCO operates at 54 GHz. The module achieves a single-sideband (SSB) power up-conversion gain of 2.5 dB and -3.5 dB at 82 GHz and 106 GHz, respectively. It exhibits > 25 GHz IF bandwidth. To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first hetero-integrated module reported so far.

(26) Performance Study of a 248 GHz Voltage Controlled Hetero-Integrated Source in InP-on-BiCMOS Technology
M. Hossain, I. Ostermay, F.J. Schmueckle, J. Borngräber, Ch. Meliani, M. Lisker, B. Tillack, O. Krueger, V. Krozer, W. Heinrich
International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies (IJMWT) 9(2), 259 (2017)
(SciFab)
This paper presents the performance study of a 248 GHz voltage-controlled hetero-integrated signal source using indium phosphide (InP)-on-bipolar complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (BiCMOS) technology. The source consists of a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) in 0.25 mm BiCMOS technology and a frequency multiplier in 0.8 mm transferredsubstrate InP-heterojunction bipolar transistor technology, which is integrated on top of the BiCMOS monolithic microwave integrated circuit in a wafer-level based benzocyclobutene bonding process. The vertical transitions from BiCMOS to InP in
this process exhibit broadband properties with insertion losses below 0.5 dB up to 325 GHz. The VCO operates at 82.7 GHz with an output power of 6 dBm and the combined circuit delivers 29 dBm at 248 GHz with 1.22% tuning range. The phase noise of the combined circuit is 285 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset. The measured output return loss of the hetero-integrated source
is .10 dB within a broad frequency range. This result shows the potential of the hetero integrated process for THz frequencies.

(27) A Low-Power 30 GHz Complex Dielectric Chem-Bio-Sensor in a SiGe BiCMOS Technology
F.I. Jamal, S. Guha, M.H. Eissa, D. Kissinger, J. Wessel
Proc. IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Bio Conference (IMBioC 2017), (2017)
(PlaqueCharM)
This paper presents an integrated chem-bio-sensor in K-band frequencies implemented in a 0.25 um SiGe BiCMOS technology including the read-out circuits. The sensor enables the detection of both permittivity and loss tangent of the material under test (MUT). A sensing oscillator results in a permittivity dependent output frequency and output power. The output power is measured using a power detector. The frequency information is translated to a DC voltage using a frequency discriminator comprised of a delay line, a Gilbert-cell mixer and a low-pass filter. The sensor differentiates different methanol-ethanol solutions in the measurements. It is 2.3 in sq. mm in size and it consumes 50 mW power. The sensor shows less than 5% error in permittivity extraction values. As a compact and low-power solution the sensor is a potential candidate for minimal invasive investigations of chemicals and bio-materials at mm-wave frequencies.

(28) A Low-Power 190-255 GHz Frequency Quadrupler in SiGe BiCMOS Technology for On-Chip Spectroscopic Applications
F.I. Jamal, M.H. Eissa, J. Borngräber, H.J. Ng, D. Kissinger, J. Wessel
Proc. IEEE Radio & Wireless Week (RWW 2017), 94 (2017)
This paper presents the design of a wide-band frequency quadrupler in the 240 GHz frequency regime fabricated in a  0.13 um SiGe BiCMOS process. Two push-push doubler with quadrature input doubles the input frequency in the first stage and a bootstrapped Gilbert-cell doubler delivers quadrupled signal at the output. The quadrupler shows a 3-dB bandwidth of 29.2 % (190-255 GHz) and the maximum output power is -16.4 dBm. The chip consumes 48 mW power. As a wide-band quadrupler, this chip is a useful building block for on-chip dielectric spectroscopy.

(29) Low-Power Miniature K-Band Sensors for Dielectric Characterization of Biomaterials
F.I. Jamal, S. Guha, M.H. Eissa, J. Borngräber, Ch. Meliani, H.J. Ng, D. Kissinger, J. Wessel
IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 65(3), 1012 (2017)
(PlaqueCharM)
This paper presents the design and comparison of three K-band sensing oscillators in standard 0.25 um SiGe:C BiCMOS technology with featuring an open-stub, shunt-stub and a combination of both. The different stub types are combined with the capacitive and/or inductive elements of the particular oscillator and serve as the sensing elements in the respective setup. The input impedances of the stubs depend on the permittivity of the medium. Therefore, the oscillation frequencies and the output power correspond to the dielectric material under test (MUT). The sensors' response to different dielectric properties have been investigated using different compositions of methanol-ethanol solutions. In the conducted experiments, the proposed architectures show a maximum frequency shift of 5 % (27.8 GHz to 26.4 GHz) for a change in permittivity of 2.4 (4.1 to 6.5) of the MUT. Each of three sensors has a chip-area of 0.6 sq. mm and consumes less than 12 mW power. The proposed sensor is a potential component for future low-power front-ends to perform minimally invasive investigations of bio-materials.

(30) Wireless Technologies for 5G and the Internet-of-Things (Guest Editorial)
D. Kissinger
IEEE Microwave Magazine 18(7), 24 (2017)

(31) Modular BiCMOS 60-GHz Beamforming Solution for Scalable 5G Backhaul Networks
M. Ko, A. Malignaggi, A.C. Ulusoy, J. Gutierrez Teran, D. Kissinger
Proc. IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS 2017), Workshop WMO-8 (2017)
(PROWILAN)
A modular beamforming architecture utilizing multiple beamforming ICs and a separate IQ modem IC is a very efficient solution for scalable 5G backhaul networks. The beamforming IC consists of amplifiers and vector modulators, and the modem IC includes up- and down-converters with an integrated PLL. The proposed solution is highly compact, and can be expanded in a modular fashion, making it suitable for communication in small-cell backhaul networks. In this presentation, IC development in 130-nm SiGe BiCMOS process as well as IC-/system-level characterization will be discussed.

(32) A 109-137 GHz Power Amplifier in SiGe BiCMOS with 16.5 dBm Output Power and 12.8% PAE
M. Kucharski, J. Borngräber, H.J. Ng, D. Kissinger
Proc. 12th European Microwave Integrated Circuits Conference (EuMIC 2017), 1021 (2017)

(33) A Wideband 129-171 GHz Frequency Quadrupler Using a Stacked Bootstrapped Gilbert Cell in 0.13 µm SiGe BiCMOS
M. Kucharski, A. Malignaggi, D. Kissinger, H.J. Ng
Proc. IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting (BCTM 2017), 158 (2017)

(34) A 30.5 GHz Fully Integrated Frequency Synthesizer in SiGe BiCMOS for 61 GHz and 122 GHz Radar Applications
M. Kucharski, A. Ergintav, F. Herzel, D. Kissinger, H.J. Ng
Proc. IEEE MTT-S International Conference on Microwaves for Intelligent Mobility (ICMIM 2017), 57 (2017)
(Benchmarking Circuits/Radar Systems)

This paper presents a fully integrated millimeter-wave phase-locked loop (PLL) frequency synthesizer fabricated in 130nm BiCMOS technology. It comprises a self-buffered voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) tunable from 29.4 to 33.0 GHz corresponds to 11.5 % tuning range. The VCO contains a programmable binary weighted varactor bank for phase noise reduction due to configurable low VCO gain. A programmable 4-bit charge pump (CP) was designed in order to compensate for VCO gain variations. It provides fast switching and shows low mismatch between UP and DN currents. The measured phase noise of the PLL is -85 dBc/Hz and -100 dBc/Hz at 150 kHz and 1 MHz offset from the carrier, respectively. The circuit draws 60 mA from 3.3 V supply. It is demonstrated that the presented chip can be successfully used in FMCW radar applications.



(35) High Q-factor Silicon Resonator for High Frequency Oscillators
E. Lia, R. Dionisio, M. Kucharski, M.A.G. Lasso, A. Gomez-Torrent, I. Arregui
Proc. ESA Microwave Technologies and Techniques Workshop (MTT 2017), (2017)

(36) Performance Improvement of a Monolithically Integrated Receiver Enabled by an Advanced Photonic BiCMOS Process
St. Lischke, D. Knoll, M.H. Eissa, M. Kroh, A. Peczek, A. Awny, L. Zimmermann
Proc. IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting (BCTM 2017), 50 (2017)
DOI: 10.1109/BCTM.2017.8112909, (SPEED)

(37) Monolithic Photonic BiCMOS Technology for High-Speed Receiver Applications
St. Lischke, D. Knoll, Ch. Mai, A. Awny, G. Winzer, M. Kroh, K. Voigt, L. Zimmermann
Proc. International Conference on Transparent Optical Networks (ICTON 2017), TuA3.3 (2017)
(DIMENSION)
Photonic-electronic integration is a key technology to master data traffic growth and therefore an enabler of future network technologies. For some time now, a novel silicon-based photonic-electronic integration technology, photonic BiCMOS, is under development at IHP. Photonic BiCMOS is a planar technology co-integrating monolithically on a single substrate high-speed RF frontend electronics – by fully featured SiGe BiCMOS – with high-speed photonic devices such as broadband germanium detectors, modulators, and SOI nano-waveguide integrated optics. High RF capability of this electronic photonic integrated circuit (ePIC) technology is enabled by SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs), which are integrated with 0.25µm CMOS.
This contribution will review the integration of a key component, the germanium detector. The integration of germanium in the BiCMOS flow results in performance issues of electronic devices and of the detector itself. We shall present measures to over-come detrimental integration effects and present examples of recent receiver demonstrators that indicate the potential for monolithic high-speed receivers at 1550nm.

(38) High-Speed SiGe BiCMOS Technologies and Circuits
A. Mai, I. Garcia Lopez, P. Rito, R. Nagulapalli, A. Awny, M. Elkhouly, M.H. Eissa, M. Ko, A. Malignaggi, M. Kucharski, H.J. Ng, K. Schmalz, D. Kissinger
International Journal of High Speed Electronics and Systems (IJHSES) 26(1&2), 1740002 (2017)
This work reports on the development of SiGe-BiCMOS technologies for mm-wave and THz high frequency applications. We present state-of-the-art performances for different SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor (SiGe-HBT) developments as well as the evolution of complex BiCMOS technologies. With respect to different technology generations of high-speed SiGe-BiCMOS processes at IHP we discuss selected device modifications of the SiGe-HBT to achieve high frequency performances of a complex BiCMOS technology towards the 0.5 THz regime. We show the difference of high-frequency performance difference with respect to maximum achievable transit frequencies fT and oscillation frequencies fmax in comparison to RF-CMOS technologies and depict the required increase of additional process effort for the HBT-module integration for a 0.5 THz SiGe-BiCMOS technology. Moreover different high speed circuits are presented like broadband ICs for optical communication, high frequency circuits for wireless communication at 60 and 240 GHz, mm-wave radar circuits at 60 and 120 GHz as well as THz circuits operating at 245 GHz and 500 GHz for spectroscopic applications. All reviewed circuit examples are based on the discussed 130nm-SiGe-BiCMOS technologies and show their potential for a broad range of high-speed applications.

(39) A Scalable 8-Channel Bidirectional V-Band Beamformer in 130 nm SiGe:C BiCMOS Technology
A. Malignaggi, M. Ko, M. Elkhouly, D. Kissinger
Proc. IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS 2017), 1602 (2017)
DOI: 10.1109/MWSYM.2017.8058940, (5G-XHaul)

(40) A Scalable 8-Channel Bidirectional V-Band Beamformer in 130 nm SiGe:C BiCMOS Technology
A. Malignaggi, M. Ko, M. Elkhouly, D. Kissinger
Proc. IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS 2017), 1602 (2017)
DOI: 10.1109/MWSYM.2017.8058940, (PROWILAN)

(41) Highly Integrated 4–32-GHz Two-Port Vector Network Analyzers for Instrumentation and Biomedical Applications
J. Nehring, M. Schütz, M. Dietz, I. Nasr, K. Aufinger, R. Weigel, D. Kissinger
IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 65(1), 229 (2017)
This paper addresses the miniaturization of microwave vector network analyzers (VNAs) and the future vision of the VNA on a chip. Therefore, a highly integrated two-port VNA with a multioctave bandwidth from 4 to 32 GHz is presented. The proposed system is based on a fully integrated radio-frequency frontend consisting of a two-port stimulus, a four-channel heterodyne receiver, and a wideband testset. The testset is comprised of on-chip multisection directional couplers. The chip is operated inside a hardware demonstrator using a 16-term calibration procedure. The measurement of arbitrary devices under test is in excellent agreement with commercial measurement equipment and showed a mean deviation from
the reference measurement of 0.17 dB and 1.29° regarding the forward transmission of a coaxial 30-dB attenuator. The system and receiver dynamic ranges are 44–77 and 82–101 dB at a resolution bandwidth of 100 kHz over the full system bandwidth. The measurements are highly repeatable and are robust against drift over time. As a proof of concept, the developed integrated network analyzers are utilized in a biomedical sensing scenario with an external and an on-chip sensor. Both approaches showed good sensitivity regarding the mixture ratio of binary solutions of ethanol and methanol.

(42) Scalable MIMO Radar Utilizing Delta-Sigma Modulation-Based Frequency-Division Multiplexing Technique
H.J. Ng, W. Ahmad, D. Kissinger
Proc. IEEE European Radar Conference (EuRAD 2017), 118 (2017)
(radar4FAD)
This paper describes the realization of a scalable MIMO radar system utilizing several transceiver (TRX) chips and patch array antennas. It uses a suitable antenna configuration that enables a maximum number of virtual array elements to improve the angular resolution of the radar system. A frequency synthesizer is required to generate a single low-frequency LO signal for the TRXs, which are implemented in a Silicon-Germanium technology and include an LO buffer as well as a frequency multiplier. The proposed scalable sensor architecture simplifies the routing of the LO signal and enables the cascading of multiple TRXs to build a MIMO radar system using time and frequency division multiplexing based on delta-sigma modulation. Radar measurement using digital-beamforming method with 5-GHz modulation bandwidth and 4 virtual array elements was performed to show the applicabilty of the proposed system.

(43) Scalable Pseudo-Random Noise Radar
H.J. Ng, M. Kucharski, W. Ahmad, D. Kissinger
Proc. 18th International Radar Symposium (IRS 2017), (2017)
(HomiRadar)
This paper describes the implementation of a radar system using the scalable sensor platform and the pseudo-random noise (PRN) radar technique as an alternative to the frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar technique. The scalable sensor platform consists of multi-purpose 61- and 122-GHz transceivers that are implemented in a Silicon-Germanium BiCMOS technology and can be cascaded to build a flexible MIMO radar. The TRXs are equipped with BPSK modulators and I/Q receivers and can be used in various sensing applications utilizing different radar techniques. Radar measurements show that the PRN radar can be a real alternative to the FMCW radar.

(44) Highly-Miniaturized 2-Channel mm-Wave Radar Sensor with On-Chip Folded-Dipole Antenna
H.J. Ng, W. Ahmad, M. Kucharski, J.-H. Lu, D. Kissinger
Proc. IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium (RFIC 2017), 368 (2017)
(HomiRadar)
This paper describes a miniaturized 2-channel system-on-chip radar sensor in a SiGe BiCMOS technology. It includes on-chip folded Dipole antennas that utilize a localized backside etching technique with a novel selective etching approach that is able to improve the radiation efficiency and the mechanical stability of the chip. The transceiver (TRX) is equipped with a 30-GHz VCO that is complemented with a frequency quadrupler to generate a 120-GHz carrier signal. The 2 transmit channels can be combined to increase the effective isotropic radiated power by 6dB and to implement a SIMO radar system. The proposed TRX also includes BPSK modulators as well as I/Q receivers and can be utilized to build a flexible MIMO radar system using frequency-modulated continuous-wave with time and delta-sigma modulator-based frequency division multiplexing as well as pseudo-random noise radar techniques. Radar measurement using digital-beamforming method with 10-GHz modulation bandwidth was performed to show the applicabilty of the proposed TRX.

(45) Multi-Purpose Fully Differential 61- and 122-GHz Radar Transceivers for Scalable MIMO Sensor Platforms
H.J. Ng, M. Kucharski, W. Ahmad, D. Kissinger
IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 52(9), 2242 (2017)
(HomiRadar)
This paper describes a multi-purpose radar system suitable for applications with different requirements on dynamic range, resolution and miniaturization degree. It utilizes a scalable sensor platform that includes a wideband 30.5-GHz VCO as well as 61- and 122-GHz transceivers (TRXs) in a Silicon-Germanium BiCMOS technology. The proposed architecture enables the cascading of multiple TRXs and allows the implementation of a MIMO radar system with 2 different frequency bands by using a single VCO. The higher transmit output power of 11.5 dBm as well as receive gain of 24 dB make the 61-GHz TRX suitable for applications requiring a high dynamic range. Range measurement with an accuracy in um range can be achieved. The lower wavelength allows the integration of on-chip antennas in the 122-GHz TRX and enables thus a high miniaturization degree. The higher LO scaling factor makes the 122-GHz TRX also more attractive for high-resolution applications. A sweep bandwidth of 2.5 GHz generated by the VCO is scaled up to 10 GHz and results in a range resolution of 3 cm. The proposed TRXs are equipped with BPSK modulators as well as an I/Q receiver and can be utilized as a base to build a flexible software-defined radar platform for range and distant-selective vibration sensors utilizing frequency-modulated continuous-wave as well as pseudo-random noise radar techniques.

(46) A Scalable Frequency-Division Multiplexing MIMO Radar Utilizing Single-Sideband Delta-Sigma Modulation
H.J. Ng, D. Kissinger
Proc. IEEE Asia Pacific Microwave Conference (APMC 2017), WE1B2 (2017)
(radar4FAD)
This paper describes a scalable MIMO radar system that features a novel frequency-division multiplexing technique. The architecture utilizes in-phase/quadrature (I/Q) modulators in combination with delta-sigma modulators to implement single-sideband (SSB) modulations on the transmit (TX) signals of which frequencies are shifted arbitrarily for frequency-division multiplexing purpose. The proposed technique allows two TX channels to use the same offset frequency so that the intermediate frequency (IF) bandwidth can be employed more efficiently. The scalable radar system utilizes several 122-GHz radar transceivers (TRXs) with on-chip antennas implemented in a Silicon-Germanium BiCMOS technology. A single 30.5-GHz LO signal is required for the TRXs, which are equipped with a frequency multiplier and can be cascaded to build a flexible MIMO radar system. A 2-channel radar system was built and deployed in radar measurement using the digital-beamforming method with 10-GHz modulation bandwidth to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed architecture.

(47) A Single Chip 16 GS/s Arbitrary Waveform Generator in 0.13 µm BiCMOS Technology
P. Ostrovskyy, K. Tittelbach-Helmrich, F. Herzel, O. Schrape, G. Fischer, D. Kissinger, P. Börner, A. Loose, D. Hellmann, P. Hartogh
Proc. IEEE Nordic Circuits and Systems Conference (NORCAS 2017), (2017)
(ChirpIC Phase2)

(48) A 60 GHz SiGe BiCMOS Monostatic Transceiver for Radar Applications
E. Öztürk, D. Genschow, U. Yodprasit, B. Yilmaz, D. Kissinger, W. Debski, W. Winkler
Proc. IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS 2017), 1408 (2017)

(49) Measuring Target Range and Velocity
E. Öztürk, D. Genschow, U. Yodprasit, B. Yilmaz, D. Kissinger, W. Debski, W. Winkler
IEEE Microwave Magazine 18(7), 26 (2017)
Increasing demand for industrial radars has
spurred research aimed toward designing better
transceiver (TRx) integrated circuits (ICs)
combined with advanced packaging technologies
[1]–[6], innovative antenna concepts, very precise
wirebonding schemes [5]–[8], and high-performance
baseband processing systems [9]. With a well-optimized
package of such products, the resulting application fields
can vary from avionics and robotics to automotive, monitoring,
level-tracking, and vital-sign-detection systems,
among many others. All these applications will require
that the final product satisfy certain metrics such as
range, resolution, accuracy, power consumption, and (as
always) production cost, which is ultimately the most
crucial criterion.

(50) A 60 GHz SiGe BiCMOS Double Receive Channel Transceiver for Radar Applications
E. Öztürk, D. Genschow, U. Yodprasit, B. Yilmaz, D. Kissinger, W. Debski, W. Winkler
Proc. IEEE European Radar Conference (EuRAD 2017), 269 (2017)

(51) 0.1mm2 SiGe BiCMOS RX / TX Channel Front-Ends for 120 GHz Phased Array Radar Systems
E. Öztürk, H.J. Ng, W. Winkler, D. Kissinger
Proc. IEEE Topical Meeting on Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems (SiRF 2017), 50 (2017)

(52) A 60-GHz SiGe BiCMOS Monostatic Transceiver for FMCW Radar Applications
E. Öztürk, D. Genschow, U. Yodprasit, B. Yilmaz, D. Kissinger, W. Debski, W. Winkler
IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 65(12), 5309 (2017)
DOI: 10.1109/TMTT.2017.2769049
In this paper, a high-range 60-GHz monostatic transceiver system suitable for frequency-modulated continuouswave (FMCW) applications is presented. The RF integrated circuit is fabricated using a 0.13-μm SiGe BiCMOS technology with fT / fmax of 250/340 GHz and occupies a very compact area of 1.42 × 0.72 mm2. All of the internal blocks are designed
fully differential with an in-phase/quadrature receiver (RX) conversion gain of 14.8 dB and −18.2 dBm of input-referred 1-dB compression point and a transmitter (TX) with 6.4 dBm of output power. The 60-GHz voltage-controlled oscillator is of a push–push type Colpitts oscillator integrated into a frequency divider with an output frequency between 910 MHz and 1 GHz with the help of 3-bit frequency tuning mechanism for external phase-locked loop operations. Between the TX and RX channels, a tunable coupler is placed to guarantee a high isolation between channels which could withstand any fabrication failures and provide a single differential antenna output. On the TX side, two power detectors are placed in order to monitor the transmitted and reflected powers on the TX channel by passing through a branchline coupler for built-in-self-test purposes. The total current consumption of this transceiver is 156 mA at 3.3 V of single supply. Considering the successful real-time radar measurements, which the radar is able to detect the objects in more than 90-m range, it proves the suitability of this monostatic chip in high-range FMCW radar systems.

(53) High-Efficiency 100-Gb/s 4-Vpp PAM-4 Driver in SiGe:C BiCMOS for Optical Modulators
P. Rito, I. Garcia Lopez, A. Awny, M. Ko, A.C. Ulusoy, D. Kissinger
Proc. Asia Pacific Microwave Conference (APMC 2017), Tu1B1 (2017)
In this paper, a PAM-4 driver for optical modulators implemented in 130nm SiGe:C BiCMOS technology with fT/fmax of 300/500 GHz is presented. The design comprises a single stage amplifier with built-in 2-bit DAC in a current-mode topology. The driver delivers a maximum differential output amplitude of 4 Vpp to a 100-Ohm differential load and features a small-signal bandwidth of 40 GHz. Time-domain measurements are performed feeding two inputs with OOK signals of less than 1 Vppd, demonstrating the PAM-4 encoded data signals at the output up to a baud rate of 50 Gbaud (100 Gb/s). The total power dissipation of the driver is 390mW, which translates to an output power to dissipation ratio of 5.1% demonstrating the high efficiency of the driver. To the best knowledge of the authors, this is the first PAM-4 driver in SiGe achieving such high data rate and output voltage, suitable for future 400-Gb/s optical transmitters.

(54) A 28 Gb/s 3-V Optical Driver with High Efficiency in a Complementary SiGe:C BiCMOS Technology
P. Rito, I. Garcia Lopez, B. Heinemann, A. Awny, A.C. Ulusoy, D. Kissinger
Proc. IEEE Topical Meeting on Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems (SiRF 2017), 23 (2017)
In this work, a modulator driver in a 0.25 µm SiGe:C complementary BiCMOS technology with fT/fmax of 110 / 180 GHz for the npn and 95 / 140 GHz for the pnp transistor is presented. The driver is implemented following an H-bridge topology, taking advantage of the availability of the pnp HBTs, and delivers a differential output amplitude of 3 Vpp to a 50 Ω load. Clear eye diagrams up to 28 Gb/s are demonstrated. Power dissipation of the full IC is only 175 mW. To the best knowledge of the authors, the reported power efficiency of 6.4% is the highest in comparison to other state of the art drivers.

(55) A DC-90 GHz 4-Vpp Differential Linear Driver in a 0.13 μm SiGe:C BiCMOS Technology for Optical Modulators
P. Rito, I. Garcia Lopez, A. Awny, A.C. Ulusoy, D. Kissinger
Proc. IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS 2017), 439 (2017)
(SPEED)
In this paper, a linear driver for optical modulators in a 0.13 μm SiGe:C BiCMOS technology with fT/fmax of 300/500 GHz is pre-sented. The driver is implemented following a distributed amplifi-er topology in a differential manner. In a 50 Ω environment, the circuit delivers a maximum differential output amplitude of 4 Vpp, featuring a small-signal gain of 13 dB and 3 dB band-width of 90 GHz. Time-domain measurements using OOK (up to 56 Gb/s) and PAM 4 (at 30 Gbaud) are performed, demonstrat-ing the maximum output swing and linearity of the driver. The output power to power dissipation ratio is 3.6%. To the best knowledge of the authors, this is the first time a linear driver for optical modulators demonstrates such bandwidth.

(56) A DC-90 GHz 4-V Linear Modulator Driver in a 0.13-μm SiGe:C BiCMOS Process
P. Rito, I. Garcia Lopez, A. Awny, M. Ko, A.C. Ulusoy, D. Kissinger
IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 65(12), 5192 (2017)
In this paper, a linear driver for optical modulators in a 0.13-μm SiGe:C BiCMOS technology with fT/fmax of 300/500 GHz is presented. The design is implemented following a distributed amplifier topology in a differential manner. The driver features a small-signal gain of 12.5 dB and a 3-dB bandwidth of 90GHz and delivers a maximum output amplitude of 4Vpp to a 100-Ohm differential load. Time-domain measurements are performed, showing the maximum output swing with OOK eye-diagrams up to 64 Gb/s and PAM-4 up to 45 Gbaud (90 Gb/s). Moreover, OOK eye-diagrams up to 120 Gb/s are reported with an output swing of 3Vppd. The power dissipation of the IC is 550mW, resulting in an output power to power dissipation ratio of 3.6 %. THD measurements are also conducted demonstrating a value of 5% up to an input amplitude of 800mVppd. To the best knowledge of the authors, this is the first time a linear driver for optical modulators demonstrates such high bandwidth and efficiency for the demonstrated data-rates.

(57) Towards Breath Gas Detection with 245 GHz Gas Sensor Based on SiGe BiCMOS Technology
N. Rothbart, K. Schmalz, J. Borngräber, S.B. Yilmaz, D. Kissinger, H.-W. Hübers
Proc. IEEE Sensors 2017, 1305 (2017)
(DFG-AGS)

(58) Towards Breath Gas Detection with 245 GHz Gas Sensor Based on SiGe BiCMOS Technology
N. Rothbart, K. Schmalz, J. Borngräber, S.B. Yilmaz, D. Kissinger, H.-W. Hübers
Proc. IEEE Sensors 2017, 1305 (2017)
(Analytics for High-K)

(59) Gas Detection with Sub-ppm Sensitivity Based on a 245 GHz SiGe BiCMOS Transmitter and Receiver
N. Rothbart, K. Schmalz, J. Borngräber, D. Kissinger, H.-W. Hübers
Proc. International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves (IRMMW-THz 2017), (2017)
(DFG-AGS)

(60) Heterogeneous Integration (Guest Editorial)
K. Samanta, D. Kissinger
IEEE Microwave Magazine 18(2), 14 (2017)

(61) Gas Spectroscopy System with Transmitters and Receivers in SiGe BiCMOS for 225-273 GHz
K. Schmalz, N. Rothbart, J. Borngräber, S.B. Yilmaz, D. Kissinger, H.-W. Hübers
Proc. SPIE Security+Defence, Millimetre Wave and Terahertz Sensors and Technology, 10439, 1043902-1 (2017)
(DFG-AGS)

(62) Gas Spectroscopy System for Breath Analysis at mm-Wave/THz Using SiGe BiCMOS Circuits
K. Schmalz, N. Rothbart, P. Neumaier, J. Borngräber, H.-W. Hübers, D. Kissinger
IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 65(5), 1807 (2017)
(DFG-AGS)
The unique fingerprint spectra of volatile organic compounds for breath analysis and toxic industrial chemicals make an mm-wave (mmW)/THz gas sensor very specific and sensitive. This paper reviews and updates results of our recent work on sensor systems for gas spectroscopy based on integrated transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX), which are developed and
fabricated in IHP’s 0.13 μm SiGe BiCMOS technology. In this paper, we present an mmW/THz spectroscopic system including a folded gas absorption cell of 1.9 m length between the TX and RX modules. We discuss the results and specifications of our sensor system based on integrated TX and RX. We demonstrate TXs and RXs with integrated antennas for  spectroscopy at 238–252 GHz and 494–500 GHz using integer-N phase-locked loops (PLLs). We present a compact system by using fractional-N PLLs allowing frequency ramps for the TX and RX, and for TX with superimposed frequency shift keying or reference frequency
modulation. In another configuration, the voltage controlled oscillators of the TX and RX local oscillator are tuned directly without PLLs by applying external voltages. Further developments of our system are aimed at realizing an even wider frequency span by switching between frequency bands, and to use a more compact gas absorption cell.

(63) Gas Spectroscopy System with 245 GHz Transmitter and Receiver in SiGe BiCMOS
K. Schmalz, N. Rothbart, J. Borngräber, S.B. Yilmaz, D. Kissinger, H.-W. Hübers
Proc. Optoelectronics and Photonics Conference (OPTO 2017), SPIE 10103, 101031L-1 (2017)
(DFG-AGS)

(64) Gas Spectroscopy System with 245 GHz Transmitter and Receiver in SiGe BiCMOS
K. Schmalz, N. Rothbart, J. Borngräber, S.B. Yilmaz, D. Kissinger, H.-W. Hübers
Proc. Optoelectronics and Photonics Conference (OPTO 2017), SPIE 10103, 101031L-1 (2017)
(Analytics for High-K)

(65) Determination of Changes in NaCl Concentration in Aqueous Solutions Using an M-Sequence Based Sensor System
C. Schmidt, M. Luebke, M. Dietz, R. Weigel, D. Kissinger, A. Hagelauer
Proc. IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Bio Conference (IMBioC 2017), (2017)

(66) A 10 Gb/s Highly-Integrated Adaptive Pseudo-Noise Transmitter for Biomedical Applications
C. Schmidt, J. Nehring, M. Dietz, R. Weigel, D. Kissinger, A. Hagelauer
Proc. IEEE Radio and Wireless Symposium (RWS 2017), 101 (2017)

(67) Layout vs. Schematic Check für integrierte elektronisch-photonische Schaltkreise in photonischer BiCMOS-Technologie
S. Simon, G. Winzer, P. Rito, I. Garcia Lopez, D. Petousi, L. Zimmermann, T. Mausolf
Proc. 7. MikroSystemTechnik Kongress (MST 2017), 50 (2017)
(SPEED)

(68) Validation of a Functional Principle for a Broadband Millimeter-Wave Power Detection Structure in a Recent BiCMOS Technology
F. Trenz, R. Weigel, D. Kissinger
Proc. IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium (RFIC 2017), 88 (2017)

(69) A 60-GHz Low-Noise Variable-Gain Amplifier in a 130-nm BiCMOS Technology for Sixport Applications
M. Völkel, M. Dietz, A. Hagelauer, R. Weigel, D. Kissinger
Proc. IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS 2017), 962 (2017)

(70) A Low-Power 120-GHz Integrated Sixport Receiver Front-End with Digital Adjustable Gain in a 130-nm BiCMOS Technology
M. Völkel, M. Dietz, R. Weigel, A. Hagelauer, D. Kissinger
Proc. IEEE Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting (BCTM 2017), 82 (2017)

(71) A Low-Power 60-GHz Integrated Sixport Receiver Front-End in a 130-nm BiCMOS Technology
M. Völkel, M. Dietz, R. Weigel, A. Hagelauer, D. Kissinger
Proc. European Microwave Conference (EuMC 2017), 73 (2017)

(72) Circuit Building Blocks for Efficient In-Antenna Power Combining at 240 GHz with Non-50 Ohm Amplifier Matching Impedance
C. von Vangerow, B. Goettel, H.J. Ng, D. Kissinger, T. Zwick
Proc. IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium (RFIC 2017), 320 (2017)

(73) Integrated 240 GHz Dielectric Sensor with DC Readout Circuit in THz Lab-on-Chip Measurements
D. Wang, K. Schmalz, M.H. Eissa, J. Borngräber, M. Kucharski, M. Elkhouly, F.I. Jamal, M. Ko, H.J. Ng, D. Kissinger
Proc. IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS 2017), 1524 (2017)
(DFG-THz LoC)

(74) Balanced RF Rectifier for Energy Recovery With Minimized Input Impedance Variation
M.-D. Wei, Y.-T. Chang, D. Wang, C.-H. Tseng, R. Negra
IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 65(5), 1598 (2017)
A balanced RF rectifier is proposed to replace terminations in microwave circuits and thus to recycle the otherwise dissipated power in resistances. In order not to degrade the performance of the original circuits, a balanced configuration is adopted because it minimizes the variation of input impedance of the rectification circuitry. This approach achieves good input reflection coefficient over a large dynamic range and operating frequencies. The highly efficient energy recycler is composed of a 3 dB quadrature coupler and two identical RF rectifiers. The impact of amplitude and phase imbalances of the transfer characteristics of the coupler is discussed. Furthermore, an arbitrary-port-resistance coupler is studied to replace non-50-Ω terminations. The experimental verification demonstrates that the proposed circuit provides an input reflection coefficient of better than -15 dB from 2.2 to 2.5 GHz over different input power levels. The measured peak RF-to-dc efficiency is 74.9 % at 2.34 GHz with S₁₁ = -24 dB. The proposed balanced rectifier thus significantly improves S₁₁ over existing rectifiers and is therefore suitable for replacing resistive terminations in a large variety of circuits.

(75) A 120-GHz Electrical Interferometer for Contactless Permittivity Measurements with Direct Digital Read-Out
J. Wessel, K. Schmalz, J.C. Scheytt, D. Kissinger
IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters 27(2), 198 (2017)
This work describes an electrical interferometer for contactless permittivity measurements working at 120 GHz. It was fabricated in a 130nm SiGe process featuring an ft and fmax of 240GHz and 330 GHz. The on-chip system contains a 120 GHz VCO with a tuning range of 7 GHz featuring a divide-by-64 circuit to enable external PLL operation. The subsequent buffer provides 7dBm of output power at 120 GHz. Additionally, the IC contains high-precision and high-resolution phase shifters based on a slow-wave transmission line approach with digital control for direct readout ability. A 120GHz LNA with 17 dB gain and a power detector to provide DC output signals were realized on chip. It enables sample emulation capability by phase shift inducement in the measurement as well as a reference transmission line. In terms of phase detection, the system shows a sensitivity of 907.36 MHz/°.

(76) A 60 GHz Wideband Variable Gain Amplifier in 130nm SiGe BiCMOS for Dielectric Spectroscopy
R.K. Yadav, F.I. Jamal, M.H. Eissa, J. Wessel, D. Kissinger
Proc. 15th IEEE International New Circuits And Systems Conference (NEWCAS 2017), 1151 (2017)
(Nexgen)
This paper presents the design, implementation, layout and measured results of a single stage 60 GHz Variable Gain Amplifer (VGA). The VGA has been implemented in 0.13 um SiGe BiCMOS technology with ft/fmax = 250/340 GHz. It provides a tunable gain of -15 to 7 dB. The circuit consumes 32.25 mW of power from 2.5 V supply. It occupies an area of 0.6 mm2 and it is intended to be deployed in minituarized dielectric sensing applications. 

(77) 645-GHz InP Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor Harmonic Oscillator
J. Yun, J. Kim, D. Yoon, J.-S. Rieh
Electronics Letters 53(22), 1475 (2017)
(1THz)
645-GHz signal generation with a harmonic oscillator based on a 250-nm InP heterojunction bipolar transistor technology is demonstrated. The oscillator is based on the common-base cross-coupled topology, generating a second harmonic signal through the push–push operation. The fabricated oscillator exhibits oscillation frequencies ranging from 561.5 to 645.1 GHz with bias variation. The measured peak output power is –17.4 dBm with a dc power dissipation of 49.3 mW (dc-to-RF efficiency of 0.04%). Additionally, terahertz imaging was successfully demonstrated with the developed oscillator employed as a signal source.

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