A 90 nm-CMOS broadband receiver with 10 dB conversion gain and 15 dB noise figure in 80–110 GHz suitable for multi-pixel imaging arrays

Abstract

This paper describes the latest development of a W-band 90 nm-CMOS receiver chip that is suitable for use in radio-astronomical multi-pixel imaging arrays and other broadband scientific instruments. This circuit includes an RF-low-noise amplifier (LNA), mixer, intermediate-frequency amplifier (IF-Amp), local-oscillator (LO) tripler, and driving amplifier. With a tripler integrated into the circuit, the incoming 80–110 GHz spectrum can be directly down-converted to 2–32 GHz by the applied 26 GHz LO signal. The system architecture will be presented, with the corresponding sub-circuits discussed in detail. In the on-wafer measurement at room temperature, this receiver has around 10 dB gain and 15 dB noise figure across the whole frequency range, with 400 mW power dissipation under 1.8 V DC bias. By adding a compound-semiconductor LNA in front of this CMOS receiver chip, compact low-noise receiver modules can be easily constructed and deployed.