Design of frequency-converting monolithic integrated circuits for millimeter-wave applications

Abstract

This thesis focuses on how to efficiently utilize the low terahertz spectrum in the frequency range from 220 to 325 GHz, also called H-band. This work presents an introduction on several techniques necessary for designing frequency-converting monolithic millimeter-wave integrated circuits for this frequency range. Six different frequency-converter MMICs in a 35 nm gate-length InGaAs mHEMT technology are presented: a nonlinear resistance up- and down-converter, a dual-gate up and down-converter, a gate-pumped transconductance up-converter and a half Gilbert cell up-converter. Each design is explained in detail, their advantages and their disadvantages are evaluated. Three examples will be given where a selection of the frequency-converter architectures are integrated with other functional stages like frequency multipliers and amplifiers to form a millimeter-wave transceiver: a highly linear FMCW radar receiver with a 50 GHz bandwidth, a heterodyne communication receiver facilitating multi-channel transmissions with carrier aggregation at W-band and a homodyne communication receiver with an integrated antenna for low-cost assembly on a PCB. Thereby, this thesis provides insight into the design considerations of terahertz frequency converters, the trade-off of different circuit architectures and topologies for certain applications, the obstacles that can occur during their development and approaches to overcome them.