Jean-Francois Bousquet

RF CMOS Parametric Downconverters

Parametric amplifiers are absent today from the majority of electronics applications. This is especially the case for parametric downconverters (PDCs). Coupled with the increasing emphasis on millimeter-wave applications and the cost of transistor scaling, the time may be right to reconsider these circuits. By employing coupled-mode theory, we arrive at a general description of PDCs. Consequently, a simple mixer is proposed that achieves gain at reduced pumping frequencies without resorting to sub-harmonics. The implications of this design for quadrature receiver systems are shown. Fundamental gain and noise limits are derived indicating the ability to operate at sub-5-dB noise figures (NFs) with very low-power requirements. Measurements on an accumulation-mode varactor in 130-nm CMOS technology indicate the necessary pumping and biasing regimes needed to approach these limits. Finally, a compact 30-GHz PDC design with 2-dB NF is discussed.

100 GHz Parametric CMOS Frequency Doubler

A parametric MOS varactor-based integrated frequency doubler is reported. The circuit is implemented in 130 nm CMOS but uses a conservative 0.35 μm gate length and produces an output between 94 and 108 GHz with a minimum measured conversion loss of 14.5 dB and a maximum output power of -7.5 dBm. Slow-wave transmission line filters are employed to reduce circuit loss and the area required by the chip.

An Integrated Active Reflector for Phase-Sweep Cooperative Diversity

In this brief, we present the design of a fully integrated all-analog wireless reflector/repeater that acts as the relay in a phase-sweeping cooperative diversity scheme. This approach multiplies the coverage of an indoor wireless sensor network by four. Using 0.13-mum CMOS and Vdd = 1 V, the active reflector provides 45-dB gain and satisfies network specifications for a dc power of as low as 0.66 mW.

Compact parametric downconversion using MOS varactors

IC Parametric mixers built in CMOS are a promising means of realizing high-gain, low-noise and low-power RF heterodyne downconverters. This paper looks at two known parametric topologies and discusses a new approach intended to simplify the LO. Measured MOS varactor data is used to demonstrate the feasibility of mixers with 10-dB gain, sub 5-dB NFs and power requirements below 1-mW at microwave frequencies.

A 4-GHz Active Scatterer in 130-nm CMOS for Phase Sweep Amplify-and-Forward

This article demonstrates the cooperative diversity improvement achieved using a 120- active scatterer built in 130-nm CMOS technology. The low-power all-analog device acts as a repeater, or relay, for phase sweep amplify-and-forward cooperative transmission. The device relies on microwave reflection to amplify, dynamically phase modulate, and reradiate the incident signal. This reduces the duration of the fades experienced in the indoor radio channel and improves error correction code performance. Radio channel propagation measurements collected using the relay prototype clearly show the effect of the phase modulation on fading and system level simulations conducted using the propagation data show a fivefold increase in coverage area.

Coherent parametric RF downconversion in CMOS

Parametric circuits constitute a longstanding RF technique that has been largely ignored by the RFIC community. Increasing interest in applying CMOS to (sub)millimeter-wave applications plus mounting scaling complexity may combine to revitalize this circuit style. This paper presents basic parametric downconverter structures, their theory of operation, and the benefits to be gained from CMOS implementation. A low-power, sub-1-V, fully integrated mixer in 130-nm CMOS is introduced. It implements two parametric modes and operates on RF signals between 22 and 24 GHz with possible conversion gains in excess of 20 dB.

Cooperative Phase Sweep Amplify-and-Forward Transmission

This work presents a new amplify-and-forward (AF) cooperative multiple input multiple output (MIMO) transmission scheme based on phase sweep transmit diversity. In a single hop cooperative link, the relay node imposes a phase sweep on the signal it receives from the source node. This phase sweeping causes fast fading when the signals from the source and relay nodes combine at the destination. On low velocity or static links, this fast fading improves channel code performance. The method used to implement the phase sweeping results in a relay node design that is much simpler than other AF schemes while still providing a comparable performance improvement.

A 0.13-µm CMOS wireless reflector for phase sweep cooperative diversity

A 4-GHz 1.2-V all-analog wireless reflector acting as a cooperative diversity repeater is built in 0.13-μm CMOS technology. Interfaced with a dipole antenna, the circuit achieves 22.3-dB gain for a low power consumption equal to 120 μW. By applying slow phase sweeping at the reflector node, diversity gain is achieved and the coverage area of an indoor wireless network is increased by a factor of 2.5.

Parametric THz frequency multiplication using CMOS technology

Accumulation-mode MOS varactors (AMOSVs) are considered for use in THz frequency multipliers. The superior modulation ratios and lower series loss relative to silicon Schottky diodes for a 130-nm CMOS technology are highlighted. Dynamic cutoff frequencies in excess of 1-THz are predicted. AMOSV potential for 10-dB loss, 600-GHz doublers is discussed as is an integrated 100-GHz doubler design.

Implementation of an all-analog active reflector

A 3.65-GHz all-analog wireless reflector acting as a cooperative diversity repeater is built in 0.13-μm CMOS technology and its performance is evaluated. Interfaced with a folded dipole antenna, the circuit can achieve a 23.5-dB gain for a very low power consumption equal to 300 μW.