Jonas Wursthorn

SiGe HBT and BiCMOS process integration optimization within the DOTSEVEN project

This paper describes the technology development activities within the European funding project DOTSEVEN done by Infineon and IHP. After half of the project duration Infineon has developed a 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS technology with fT of 250 GHz and fmax of 370 GHz. State-of-the-art MMIC performance is demonstrated by a 77 GHz automotive radar transmitter. The suitability of IHṔs advanced SiGe HBT module with epitaxial base link for future industrial BiCMOS platforms is demonstrated by integrating it in Infineons 130 nm process resulting in an fmax of 500 GHz, 1.8 ps gate delay and a record 161 GHz static frequency divider. IHP has achieved an fmax of 570 GHz for the first time using an HBT concept with non-selective epitaxial base deposition and an elevated extrinsic base.

Advanced Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor for Half-THz SiGe BiCMOS Technology

The high-frequency performance of a novel SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) module with monocrystalline base link is investigated in an industrial 0.13-μm BiCMOS environment. The main feature of this new HBT module is a significant reduction of the external base resistance as shown here by direct comparison with a conventional double-poly-silicon technology. Peak fT/fmax values of 300/500 GHz are achieved. A minimum current-mode logic ring oscillator gate delay of 1.8 ps and a record operation frequency for a SiGe static frequency divider of 161 GHz are demonstrated.

A true-RMS integrated power sensor for on-chip calibration

An on-chip RF power sensor based on the bolometer principle is presented in this work. The sensor can be used for transmitter calibration purposes without using any RF equipment offering time and cost savings. Investigations on various layers of the fT=170GHz SiGe bipolar technology, which is used in this work, are performed and evaluated. Especially silicided polysilicon layers show a promising behavior as bolometer. Measurements on a 76GHz transmitter chip are performed to point out the feasibility of the on-chip absolute RF power sensor. The results show that this novel sensor concept is well suited for on-chip self-calibration.

Absolute mm-wave power sensor using a switching quad output stage

This work focuses on the implementation of a thermistor-based power sensor for an operating frequency around 77GHz in a 0.35 m bipolar technology. As the sensor concept is based on DC substitution, absolute rms power levels can be derived which makes the sensor suitable for built-in self-test and calibration purposes. The error between the sensor results and a radio frequency reference measurement is as small as 0.5 dB for power levels larger than −5 dBm.

A Wideband 341-386 GHz Transmitter in SiGe BiCMOS Technology

A transmitter with an output frequency range from 341 to 386 GHz is presented. Power output varies from 0.1 to -15.8 dBm along its operating range, while it remains above -2.9 dBm from 341 to 353 GHz. The high-frequency signal is generated using a wideband push-push voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) with coarse and fine frequency tuning control, a 3-stage power amplifier, and a frequency doubler. Additionally, a frequency divider is integrated to provide a second low- frequency output for measurement purposes and to enable later the addition of a phase-locked loop (PLL) for the stabilization of the VCO. The obtained frequency tuning range of 12.4% is a record value for silicon-based transmitters above 300 GHz. The total power consumption is 790 mW. The chip is fabricated in a 130nm SiGe BiCMOS technology with fT/fmax = 250/370 GHz.

A 162 GHz power amplifier with 14 dBm output power

A 3-stage power amplifier (PA) with 14dBm saturated output power (Psat), 29.5 dB small-signal gain, and 4.8% power-added efficiency (PAE) at a frequency of 162GHz is presented. From 155 to 165 GHz, Psat remains higher than 12.5 dBm, while the small-signal gain varies from 35.4 dB to 28.3 dB. Maximum output power and gain performance are obtained by using a differential cascode topology and operating the transistors well beyond their open-base collector-emitter breakdown voltage (BVCEO), and by optimum matching of the three stages of the PA. To our best knowledge, this is the highest reported output power for a sillicon-based PA beyond 150 GHz. The chip is fabricated in a 130nm SiGe BiCMOS technology with fT/fmax = 250/370 GHz.

SiGe power amplifier for automotive radar applications from 76 to 81 GHz

This work presents a power amplifier for automotive radar applications based on the differential cascode topology. The power amplifier is manufactured in a 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS technology. At 77 GHz, the peak power added efficiency is 16 % at an output power of 17 dBm. Furthermore, the linear gain is 14.2 dB and the maximum saturated output power reaches 17.5 dBm. The chip consumes an area of 0.29 mm2 excluding the pads and is characterized between 25 and 125 degrees Celsius. A 1 dB bandwidth for the output power of 12 GHz is observed covering a frequency range from 73 GHz to 85 GHz. The output-referred 1 dB compression point of the power amplifier is 14.5 dBm.