A wideband mono-bit digital receiver circuit using InP/CMOS 3D heterogeneous integration

Abstract

A mono-bit digital receiver circuit for instantaneous frequency measurement is presented. The circuit is co-designed with Indium Phosphide Double Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices. The chip is fabricated by InP/CMOS three-dimensional (3D) heterogeneous integration using the wafer-level bonding technique. The measurable signal frequency within + 15 to − 25 dBm power is up to 7.5 GHz with a 14-GHz clock. Compared to an integrated circuit (IC) with a traditional InP or CMOS technologies, the proposed chip could benefit from both InP and CMOS technology. In the heterogeneous integration, InP devices provide high operating frequency, broad signal bandwidth, and large input signal dynamic range, while CMOS devices achieve complex function with low power consumption. In this way, the system FoM is improved for a mono-bit digital receiver while the system power consumption is kept the same. This work also shows the great potential of the 3D heterogeneous integration for the high-performance mixed-signal and multifunction radio-frequency ICs.