In this program integrated mm-wave circuits & synthesizers, broadband mixed-signal circuits and circuits for ultra-low-power wireless applications are designed and realized as prototypes.
In the RF Circuits research program, the implementation of integrated millimeter-wave circuits is an important focus of work. This includes transmitting and receiving circuits as well as frequency synthesizers for systems with working frequencies of up to 720 GHz. The research and development tasks concentrate on the design of circuits for IHP's own SiGe-BiCMOS processes.
Another focus of the research program addresses broadband electronic mixed-signal circuits as key components for fiber-optic and wireless broadband communication. New concepts and electronic circuits for the highest data rates and thus extremely large signal bandwidths are developed here.
The increasing importance of the energy efficiency of HF transmitting and receiving circuits (e.g. in mobile electronic applications in battery operation) is a focus of the research program. For this purpose, energy-efficient RF circuit concepts and their application in communication, localization and sensor technology are researched. The circuits are supplemented by an intelligent, system-specific power management.
The new fields of activity of the research program include the development and research of integrated circuits for very fast analog-digital and digital-analog converters with sampling rates in the GHz range. The addressed applications are in the direct synthesis of high-frequency signals or in the digital signal processing of such HF signals.
The research and implementation of RF circuits that correspond to the state-of-the-art also require a constant development of design methods and design tools. One focus is, for example, on the development of radiation-proof circuits for space applications.