Fully Integrated Single-Chip 305–375-GHz Transceiver With On-Chip Antennas in SiGe BiCMOS

Abstract

A fully integrated single-chip transceiver (TRX) with on-chip antennas for transmitting and receiving signals within a continues frequency range from 305 to 375 GHz is presented. The radio-frequency (RF) and local oscillator signals are generated using a wideband push–push voltage-controlled oscillator, a three-stage power amplifier, and a frequency doubler. A heterodyne receiver using a fundamental mixer converts the received RF signal to an intermediate frequency (IF) signal, which drives an IF amplifier. Additionally, a divide-by-64 frequency divider is integrated to provide a low-frequency output for measurement purposes and to enable later the addition of a phase-locked loop for frequency stabilization and synthesis. A 130-nm silicon–germanium BiCMOS process with $f_t/f_{\max}$ = 250 GHz/370 GHz is used. The TRX chip is wire bonded to a printed circuit board and a TPX (Polymethylpentene) lens is placed on top of the chip for focusing the radiation. At a frequency of 343 GHz, the measurements show an effective isotropic radiated power of 18.4 dBm, a phase noise of $-$ 79 dBc/Hz@1 MHz, and an IF conversion gain of 28 dB. The obtained tuning bandwidth of 70 GHz is the highest reported so far for fully integrated TRXs.