Analog Circuits and Signal Processing

Transcription

1 Analog Circuits and Signal Processing Series Editors Mohammed Ismail The Ohio State University Dept. Electrical & Computer Engineering, Dublin, Ohio, USA Mohamad Sawan École Polytechnique de Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

2 The Analog Circuits and Signal Processing book series, formerly known as the Kluwer International Series in Engineering and Computer Science, is a high level academic and professional series publishing research on the design and applications of analog integrated circuits and signal processing circuits and systems. Typically per year we publish between 5 15 research monographs, professional books, handbooks, edited volumes and textbooks with worldwide distribution to engineers, researchers, educators, and libraries. The book series promotes and expedites the dissemination of new research results and tutorial views in the analog field. There is an exciting and large volume of research activity in the field worldwide. Researchers are striving to bridge the gap between classical analog work and recent advances in very large scale integration (VLSI) technologies with improved analog capabilities. Analog VLSI has been recognized as a major technology for future information processing. Analog work is showing signs of dramatic changes with emphasis on interdisciplinary research efforts combining device/circuit/technology issues. Consequently, new design concepts, strategies and design tools are being unveiled. Topics of interest include: Analog Interface Circuits and Systems; Data converters; Active-RC, switched-capacitor and continuous-time integrated filters; Mixed analog/digital VLSI; Simulation and modeling, mixed-mode simulation; Analog nonlinear and computational circuits and signal processing; Analog Artificial Neural Networks/Artificial Intelligence; Current-mode Signal Processing; Computer-Aided Design (CAD) tools; Analog Design in emerging technologies (Scalable CMOS, BiCMOS, GaAs, heterojunction and floating gate technologies, etc.); Analog Design for Test; Integrated sensors and actuators; Analog Design Automation/Knowledge-based Systems; Analog VLSI cell libraries; Analog product development;rf Front ends, Wireless communications and Microwave Circuits; Analog behavioral modeling, Analog HDL. More information about this series at

3 Noël Deferm Patrick Reynaert CMOS Front Ends for Millimeter Wave Wireless Communication Systems 2123

4 Noël Deferm ESAT-MICAS KU Leuven Leuven Belgium Patrick Reynaert ESAT-MICAS KU Leuven Leuven Belgium ISSN X ISSN (electronic) Analog Circuits and Signal Processing ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / Library of Congress Control Number: Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (

5 Preface Today s electronic communication possibilities and applications are endless. However, only 150 years ago, the concept of the telephone was unknown. The history of electronic communication begins in the nineteenth century with the telegraph, and a couple of years later, the telephone. At the end of the same century, the foundations of wireless electronic communication were established. In the beginning, these electronic systems were bulky and impractical due to large components like vacuum tube amplifiers. Thanks to the invention of the transistor and the integrated microprocessor, these communication systems could be miniaturized and integrated into portable systems that we all use today, like smartphones, laptops, and tablets. History has also taught us that the demand for data rate over wireless channels rapidly increases, from several kilobits per second in the early 1990s to hundreds of megabits in today s high-speed wireless links. But even these high-speed links cannot support the applications of the (near) future like wireless uncompressed (ultra) high-definition video streaming or gigabit wireless LAN, for which data rates in the order of 10 Gb/s and even higher are required. Therefore, new solutions have to be developed to support these high-data-rate links, today and in the future. One of the most promising solutions is to shift the wireless carrier frequency from the currently used microwave bands (e.g., 2.4, 5 GHz) toward the millimeter-wave frequency spectrum (60, 85, 94, 120 GHz), where high modulation bandwidths are available, which can support gigabit-per-second wireless data streaming. This work focuses on the development of circuit and system design techniques for millimeter-wave wireless communication systems above 90 GHz and fabricated in nanometer-scale CMOS technologies. The scaling of CMOS technologies over the past decades has led to transistors with gate lengths in the nanometer scale range. Thanks to this scaling, the speed of the MOS transistors has also increased to a maximum frequency of oscillation above 300 GHz for the latest technology nodes. So CMOS has become a millimeter-wave technology, but with the great advantage of high integration capabilities. Although the speed of the CMOS transistors has increased, the target operation frequency of the circuits in this work (above 90 GHz) is still close to the technology s maximum frequency of oscillation. So coping with a low power gain is one of the v

6 vi Preface major design challenges in CMOS at millimeter-wave frequencies. Also, the transistors tend to show inherent potential unstable behavior, which makes multistage amplifier and system design a real challenge. Furthermore, the metal stack of CMOS technologies is not optimized for the design of high-frequency passives, which will result in a decreased performance of traditional matching circuit topologies. At the system level, problems like the implementation of the millimeter-wave chip interface and bandwidth and linearity requirements of the ADCs, DACs, and up- and downconversion circuits emerge. These problems are addressed in several chip implementations in which circuitand system-level solutions are proposed and implemented. Capacitive neutralization is extensively applied to improve the gain and stability properties of the transistors in multistage differential W-band CMOS amplifiers. The adoption of transformers and differential slow-wave transmission lines in the impedance matching networks resulted in small chip footprints, while improving the performance of the amplifiers even more. High gains ranging from 11 up to 18 db and high output powers up to 8 dbm were measured, which confirms the efficiency of the adopted circuit design techniques. A combination of two stability analysis techniques is also proposed to accurately predict the common-mode and differential-mode stability behaviors of multistage amplifiers. On the one hand, pole zero stability analysis, which is excellent to predict the frequencies of possible oscillations and their dependency of one single design parameter is used. On the other hand, K-factor and stability circle-based analysis is adopted to get better insight in the load and source impedances causing possible unstable behavior. Combining both techniques has led to a robust stability analysis technique which not only makes it possible to identify the cause of the oscillation and its frequency but also gives better insight in possible stabilization solutions. New digital modulation system topologies are proposed for fully integrated F-band and D-band transmitters. These direct carrier modulator topologies result in a relaxation of the requirements of the upconverter and allow to omit wideband, high-speed digital-to-analog converters. In addition, the design complexity of these systems can be considerably reduced. An F-band ASK transmitter supporting data rates up to 5 Gb/s and a 120-GHz, 10-Gb/s PSK transmitter will be discussed. The design and performance of a fully integrated 120-GHz Star-QAM transmitter, which combines both modulation techniques of the previously mentioned transmitters, capable of supporting a 10-Gb/s wireless data link, is also one of the topics in this book. The integration of a frequency generator, modulator, power amplifier, baseband circuits, and bondwire antenna has led to a fully integrated solution which solves the problem of millimeter-wave interfacing, and hereby closes the gap between a laboratory chip solution and a real-life application. Leuven Noël Deferm Patrick Reynaert

7 Contents 1 Introduction A Brief History of Electronic Communication Millimeter-Wave Frequencies: Toward High Bandwidth Wireless Channels Millimeter-Wave Communication Applications Other Millimeter-Wave Applications CMOS and Millimeter Wave: Advantages and Problems Outline of This Book... 9 References CMOS at Millimeter Wave Frequencies Properties of MOS Transistors at Millimeter Wave Frequencies High Frequency Gain Stability Considerations Capacitive Neutralization Differential Mode Stability Common Mode Stability Neutralization Capacitors Conclusion References Passive Devices: Simulation and Design D Simulation of Planar Passive Devices Transmission Lines Microstrip Differential Microstrip Differential Slow-Wave Transmission Line High Characteristic Impedance Transmission Line Topology Comparison Hybrid Coupler Transformers vii

8 viii Contents Transformer Topologies Transformer Sizing Mm-wave Antennas The Need for mm-wave On-chip Antennas D Simulation of Radiating Structures Substrate and Chip Carrier Fully Integrated Dipoles Pseudo Integrated Dipoles: Bondwire Antennas Antenna Comparison Conclusion References Integrated Differential Amplifiers Optimization for Gain: Small-Signal Amplifiers Power Gain Matching GHz Transformer-Coupled Amplifier Optimization for Noise: LNA Noise Matching Topologies Chip Implementation Optimization for Output Power: PA Power Matching Topologies Chip Implementations Conclusion References Millimeter-Wave Transmitters in CMOS System Design Considerations Conventional Topologies Millimeter (mm)-wave Topologies A 120-GHz Amplitude Shift Keying Transmitter System Description Digital Baseband Modulator Power Amplifier (PA) Measurements A 120-GHz Quadrature Phase Shift Keying Transmitter System Description Quadrature Phase Generation Channel Current Combining Multiplexer Power Amplifier (PA) Measurements Conclusion References

9 Contents ix 6 A 120-GHz Wireless Link Application GHz Link Budget Analysis Modulation: Star-QAM Receiver Antenna LNA Demodulator: Costas Loop Amplitude Detector and High-Speed Comparator High-Speed Digital Output Measurements Transmitter Quadrature Voltage Controlled Oscillator PA Modulator Simulated Performance Digital Baseband Measurements Conclusion References General Conclusions Index

10 List of Abbreviations AM ADC ASK BB BPSK BW BER CMOS CS DAC DC DUT EM EVM FIB FMCW FOM FSPL FW GaAs GND GPU GSG HD HW IC ICP IF IP IQ LFSR LNA Amplitude modulation Analog-to-digital converter Amplitude shift keying Baseband Binary-phase shift keying Bandwidth Bit error rate Complementary metal oxide semiconductor Common source Digital-to-analog converter Direct current Device under test Electromagnetic Error vector magnitude Focused ion beam Frequency-modulated continuous wave Figure of merit Free space path loss Full wave Gallium arsenide Ground Graphics processing unit Ground signal ground High definition Half wave Integrated circuit Input-referred compression point Intermediate frequency Inductive peaking In-phase and quadrature Linear feedback register Low-noise amplifier xi

11 xii List of Abbreviations LO LP MAG MIM MMIC MOM MSG MOS MOSCAP MOSFET MUX NF nmos OCP PAE ParBERT PCB PLL PM PRBS PSK PSP pmos PA PAPR QAM QPSK RF RFIC RMS RX SE SGH SNR SiP SoC SRF SWTL TL TX UHD VCO VNA Local oscillator Low power Maximum available gain Metal insulator metal Monolithic microwave integrated circuit Metal oxide metal Maximum stable gain Metal oxide semiconductor Metal oxide semiconductor capacitor Metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor Multiplexer Noise figure n-channel MOSFET Output-referred compression point Power-added efficiency Parallel bit error rate tester Printed circuit board Phase-locked loop Phase modulation Pseudo random bit sequence Phase shift keying Penn State Philips p-channel MOSFET Power amplifier Peak-to-average power ratio Quadrature amplitude modulation Quadrature phase shift keying Radio frequency Radio frequency integrated circuit Root mean square Receiver Single ended Standard gain horn Signal-to-noise ratio System-in-package System-on-chip Self-resonant frequency Slow-wave transmission line Transmission line Transmitter Ultra high definition Voltage-controlled oscillator Vector network analyzer