A Full X-Band Phased-Array Transmit/Receive Module Chip in 65-nm CMOS Technology

Hyohyun Nam,Bok-Hyung Lee,Jeong-Moon Song,Van-Viet Nguyen,Van-Son Trinh,Jung-Dong Park

doi:10.1109/access.2020.2988501

Hyohyun Nam, Bok-Hyung Lee + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2020.2988501

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Abstract

In this paper, we present a phased-array transceiver chip operating in full X-band (8-12 GHz) in 65-nm CMOS technology. The presented transceiver for the transmit/receive module (TRM) consists of a 6-bit passive phase shifter, a 6-bit attenuator, a bi-directional gain amplifier (BDGA), and a single pole double throw (SPDT) switch connected to the internal power amplifier (PA) and the low-noise amplifier (LNA) to serve as a duplexer. A 64-bit SPI scan-chain is integrated for digital TRM control. The transmitter achieves greater than 15 dB of power gain with 11.84 dBm at the output 1-dB compression point (OP1dB). To achieve a wideband operation of the passive phase shifter, we assigned two different resonant frequencies for the phase leading and lagging networks and aligned the slopes of their phase responses to have the desired phase shifts at the center frequency. The RMS phase error is less than 5°, and the RMS amplitude error is less than 0.45 dB for all phase and attenuation states within 8-12 GHz while dissipating 216 mW dc power from a 1 V power supply. The receiver shows greater than 15 dB of power gain and has a noise figure (NF) of less than 8.4 dB for the entire X-band. The RMS phase error and the RMS amplitude error are less than 5° and 0.45 dB, respectively, for all control states within 8-12 GHz. The receiver consumes 110 mW with a 1 V power supply. The transceiver chip occupies an area of $4\times1.88$ mm 2 .

Highlights

Active phased-array antenna (APAA) systems have been extensively spotlighted in areas such as satellite communications, wireless communications, and radar applications owing to their increased channel capacity, reduced transmit power requirement, improved signal-to-noise ratio, and immunity to strong interference.Until recently, phased array systems have been used primarily in defense and space applications since an electrically scanned APAA can support much faster beam scanning in a more compact volume than a mechanically scanned antenna
Since hundreds or even thousands of transmit/receive module (TRM) can be incorporated in a phased array antenna system, depending on the application, it is essential that the TRM be compact, be lowcost, and have a low-power design without compromising its performance
We present a fully integrated TRM chip operating in full X-band (8 – 12 GHz) in 65-nm CMOS technology

Summary

Introduction

Active phased-array antenna (APAA) systems have been extensively spotlighted in areas such as satellite communications, wireless communications, and radar applications owing to their increased channel capacity, reduced transmit power requirement, improved signal-to-noise ratio, and immunity to strong interference.Until recently, phased array systems have been used primarily in defense and space applications since an electrically scanned APAA can support much faster beam scanning in a more compact volume than a mechanically scanned antenna. Since the output power and the noise figure of the bidirectional transceiver with two-ports [13], [15] was limited by the performance of the BDGA, we implement a TRM chip with an SPDT switch to add PA and LNA separately. In comparison with [13], [15], we designed a 5.625◦ phase shift cell with BP and LP networks instead of switch to significantly enhance the operating frequency range.

Results

Conclusion