Millimeter-Wave Integrated Circuits Eoin Carey Sverre Lidholm Millimeter-Wave Integrated Circuits 4- Springer Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 0-387-23665-1 e-ISBN 0-387-23666-X Printed on acid-free paper. O 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, Inc., 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now know or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks and similar terms, even if the are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed in the United States of America. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 SPIN 11340546 Dedication To our wives, Aileen and Phil. Contents Dedication v .. . Preface xlll Acknowledgments xv 1. An Introduction to mm-Wave Integrated Circuits 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Motivation for mm-Waves 1 1.3 Motivation for Monolithic GaAs Integrated Circuits 2 1.4 Motivation for Improved Fundamental Circuit Understanding 3 1.5 Key Components 1.6 Structure of this Work 2. High Frequency Materials and Technology 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Electrical Characteristics of Ideal High-Frequency Semiconductor Material 8 .. . vlll Millimeter- Wave Integrated Circuits 2.3 Electrical Characteristics of Real High Frequency Materials 9 2.3.1 Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) 10 2.3.2 GaAs / Si Comparison 10 2.3.3 InP 15 2.3.4 Other 111-V Compound Semiconductors 16 2.3.5 InGaAs 17 2.4 111-V Compound Semiconductor Fabrication Techniques 18 2.5 GaAs Fabrication Technology 2.5.1 Crystal Growth 2.5.2 Epitaxy 2.5.3 Ion Implantation 2.5.4 GaAs Dopants 2.5.5 Schottky and Ohmic Contacts 2.6 Considerations for the Realisation of Effective Monolithic mm- Wave Circuit Layouts 26 2.6.1 Schematic Optimisation Consistent with Good mm-Wave Layout practice 2.6.2 Consideration of Foundry Element Limitations 2.6.3 Probing Considerations 2.6.4 DicingISawing Considerations 2.6.5 Packaging Impact on Performance 2.7 Future Trends 3. High Frequency Devices 3.1 Introduction 3.2 High Frequency Devices 3.2.1 Background 3.2.2 Schottky Diode 3.2.3 MESFET 3.2.4 Modern FET Variants 3.2.5 FET Equivalent Circuit 3.2.6 Fundamental FET Circuit Relationships 3.2.7 GaAs Hetero-Junction Bipolar Transistor 3.2.8 Silicon based High Frequency Devices and Circuits 3.3 The Future.. . Millimeter- Wave Integrated Circuits 4. High-Volume mm-Wave Circuits 4.1 The Challenge 4.2 Transceiver Configurations for mm-Waves 4.2.1 Existing Solutions 4.2.2 Monolithic Solution 4.3 Integrated Monolithic Transceiver Considerations 4.4 The Goal 5. Low Noise mm-Wave Amplifiers 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Conventional 57.2 - 58.2 GHz LNA Development 5.2.1 Introduction 5.2.2 57 GHz LNA Design Details 5.2.3 57 GHz LNA Characterisation 5.2.4 Discussion 5.3 New LNA Design Methodology 5.3.1 Considerations at mm-Waves 5.3.2 Device Stabilisation 5.3.3 Packaging Considerations 5.3.4 NoiseIMatch Tradeoff 5.3.5 Output Match 5.3.6 Inter-stage Match 5.3.7 Amplifier Bandwidth Enhancement 5.3.8 Four Stage 30 - 50 GHz LNA 5.3.9 Measurements 5.4 Discussion 5.5 Conclusion 6. Monolithic Mixers 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Microwave Mixers - Some Considerations x Millimeter- Wave Integrated Circuits 6.3 Monolithic Mixer Architectures 113 6.3.1 Single-Ended Diode Mixers 113 6.3.2 Sub-Harmonically Pumped Diode Mixers 114 6.3.3 FET Mixers 115 6.4 FET Mixers - Prior Art in the Context of Theory and Practical Realisation from the Literature 116 6.5 Original Mixer Study, Design and Evaluation 119 6.5.1 Simulation Tool Settings Specific to Mixer Design 121 6.5.2 Single-Ended FET Mixer Topologies - Intuitive Study and 57 GHz Down Converter Simulations 122 6.5.3 Detailed FET Mixer Schematic Development 137 6.5.4 Balanced FET Mixer Design Details 149 6.5.5 Schottky Diode Mixer Design Considerations 152 6.5.6 Balanced Diode Mixer Design Details 155 6.5.7 MMIC Mixer Evaluations 157 6.6 Discussion 162 6.7 Conclusion 164 6.8 Likely Future Trends 165 7. FET Frequency Multipliers 167 7.1 Introduction 167 7.2 Theoretical Analysis of Single-ended FET Multiplier 169 7.2.1 General Background 169 7.2.2 Review of Existing Published Analyses 170 7.2.3 New Generalized FET Multiplier Analysis Approach 172 7.3 Practical Single-Ended MM-wave MMIC Frequency Multipliers 187 7.3.1 Practical Single-Ended MMIC Multiplier Introduction 187 7.3.2 56 GHz MMIC Frequency Tripler 188 7.3.3 40 GHz Frequency Doubler 196 7.3.4 Practical Single-Ended Multiplier Design Conclusions 209 7.4 Balanced Frequency Multiplier Considerations 210 7.4.1 Balanced Frequency Multiplier Introduction 210 7.4.2 Balanced Frequency Multiplier Theory 210 Millimeter- Wave Integrated Circuits xi 7.4.3 Frequency Doubler Configuration Review 212 7.4.4 Frequency Tripler Configuration Review 214 7.4.5 A Novel Generalised Balanced Frequency Multiplier Approach 21 5 7.4.6 Balanced Frequency Multiplier Recommendations 218 7.4.7 Balanced Frequency Multiplier Conclusions 22 1 7.5 High Power Generation at mm-Wave Frequencies using FET Multipliers 22 1 7.5.1 High Frequency High Power Generation Introduction 221 7.5.2 Current State of the Art Review 222 7.5.3 Potential MMIC Multiplier Schemes 223 7.5.4 Non-Linear mm-Wave Device Models 224 7.5.5 Non-Linear Building Block Circuit Designs 224 7.5.6 Chain Responses 229 7.5.7 Optimum X2X2 Chain Development 23 5 7.5.8 High Power mm-Wave Generation Analysis Conclusions 23 8 7.6 Multiplier Conclusions 24 1 8. Practical Monolithic Transceiver 243 8.1 Introduction 243 8.2 Transceiver Topology 243 8.3 Transceiver Layout 245 8.4 Expected Performance 246 8.5 Measured Performance 248 8.6 Conclusions 250 9. General Discussion and Future Trends 25 1 9.1 Introduction 25 1 9.2 This Work and its Place in the General Field 9.2.1 Amplifiers 9.2.2 Mixers 9.2.3 Frequency Multipliers Millimeter- Wave Integrated Circuits 9.3 Future Developments 9.3.1 Based on This Work 9.3.2 General MMIC Field References Index