Millimeter-Wave Concurrent Dual-Band BiCMOS RFIC Transmitter for Radar and Communication Systems

摘要

This dissertation presents new circuit architectures and techniques for improving the performance of several key BiCMOS RFIC building blocks used in radar and wireless communication systems operating up to millimeter-wave frequencies, and the development of an advanced, low-cost and miniature millimeter-wave concurrent dual-band transmitter for short-range, high-resolution radar and high-rate communication systems.A new type of low-power active balun consisting of a common emitter amplifier with degenerative inductor and a common collector amplifier is proposed. The parasitic neutralization and compensation techniques are used to keep the balun well balanced at very high frequencies and across an ultra-wide bandwidth. A novel RF switch architecture with ultra-high isolation and possible gain is proposed, analyzed and demonstrated. The new RF switch architecture achieves an ultra-high isolation through implementation of a new RF leaking cancellation technique. A new class of concurrent dual-band impedance matching networks and technique for synthesizing them are presented together with a 25.5/37-GHz concurrent dual-band PA. These matching networks enable simultaneous matching of two arbitrary loads to two arbitrary sources at two different frequencies, utilizing the impedance-equivalence properties of LC networks that any LC network can be equivalent to an inductor, capacitor, open or short at different frequencies. K- and Ka-band ultra-low-leakage RF-pulse formers capable of producing very narrow RF pulses in the order of 200 ps with small rising and falling time for short-range high-resolution radar and high-data-rate communication systems are also developed.The complete transmitter exhibiting unique characteristics obtained from capabilities of producing very narrow and tunable RF pulses with extremely RF leakage and working concurrently in dual bands at 24.5 and 35 GHz was designed. Capability of generating narrow and tunable RF pulses allows the radar system to flexibly work at high and multiple range resolutions. The extremely low RF leakage allows the transmitter to share one antenna system with receiver, turn on the PA at all time, comply the transmitting spectrum requirements, increase the system dynamic range, avoid harming to other systems; hence improving system size, cost and performance. High data-rate in communication systems is achieved as the consequence of transmitting very narrow RF pulses at high rates. In addition, the dissertation demonstrates a design approach for low chip-area, cost and power consumption systems in which a single dual-band component (power amplifier) is designed to operate with two RF signals simultaneously.