Klaus Aufinger

A 77GHz 4-channel automotive radar transceiver in SiGe

A fully integrated 4-channel automotive radar transceiver chip, integrated in a 200-GHz SiGe:C production technology, is presented. With a typical transmit power of 2 x +7 dBm at the antenna ports and all functions active, the chip draws a current of about 600 mA from a single 5.5 V supply. The design permits FMCW operation in the 76 to 77 GHz band at chip-backside temperatures from -40degC to +125degC.

An Ultra-Wideband 80 GHz FMCW Radar System Using a SiGe Bipolar Transceiver Chip Stabilized by a Fractional-N PLL Synthesizer

A radar system with an ultra-wide FMCW ramp bandwidth of 25.6 GHz (≈32%) around a center frequency of 80 GHz is presented. The system is based on a monostatic fully integrated SiGe transceiver chip, which is stabilized using conventional fractional-N PLL chips at a reference frequency of 100 MHz. The achieved in-loop phase noise is ≈ -88 dBc/Hz (10 kHz offset frequency) for the center frequency and below ≈-80 dBc/Hz in the wide frequency band of 25.6 GHz for all offset frequencies >;1 kHz. The ultra-wide PLL-stabilization was achieved using a reverse frequency position mixer in the PLL (offset-PLL) resulting in a compensation of the variation of the oscillators tuning sensitivity with the variation of the N-divider in the PLL. The output power of the transceiver chip, as well as of the mm-wave module (containing a waveguide transition), is sufficiently flat versus the output frequency (variation <;3 dB). In radar measurements using the full bandwidth an ultra-high spatial resolution of 7.12 mm was achieved. The standard deviation between repeated measurements of the same target is 0.36 μm.

SiGe Bipolar VCO With Ultra-Wide Tuning Range at 80 GHz Center Frequency

A SiGe millimeter-wave VCO with a center frequency around 80 GHz and an extremely wide (continuous) tuning range of 24.5 GHz ( ap 30%) is presented. The phase noise at 1 MHz offset is -97 dBc/Hz at the center frequency (and less than -94 dBc/Hz in a frequency range of 21 GHz). The maximum total output power is about 12 dBm. A cascode buffer improves decoupling from the output load at reasonable VCO power consumption (240 mW at 5 V supply voltage). A low-power frequency divider (operating up to 100 GHz) provides, in addition, a divided-by-four signal. As a further intention of this paper, the basic reasons for the limitation of the tuning range in millimeter-wave VCOs are shown and the improvement by using two (instead of one) varactor pairs is demonstrated.

86 GHz static and 110 GHz dynamic frequency dividers in SiGe bipolar technology

We present static and dynamic frequency dividers manufactured in a 200 GHz f/sub T/ SiGe bipolar technology. The static divider has a divide ratio of 32 and operates up to 86.2 GHz. The dynamic divider is based on regenerative frequency division and has a divide ratio of two. It operates up to 110 GHz (limited by the measurement equipment). The power consumption of the static and dynamic frequency dividers is 900 mW and 310 mW, respectively.

Integrated Bandpass Filter at 77 GHz in SiGe Technology

The implementation and characterization of an integrated passive bandpass filter at 77GHz is presented. A lumped elements filter occupying very small die area (110times60mum2, without pads) is demonstrated. It is realized with spiral inductors and metal-insulator-metal capacitors. The filter is fabricated in an advanced SiGe:C technology. It has a center frequency of 77.3GHz and a bandwidth of 12GHz. The insertion loss is 6.4dB. This is the first time that integrated inductors are used for filters at millimeter wave frequencies around 80GHz

An 84 GHz Bandwidth and 20 dB Gain Broadband Amplifier in SiGe Bipolar Technology

This paper reports on the design, fabrication, and characterization of a lumped broadband amplifier in SiGe bipolar technology. The measured differential gain is 20 dB with a 3-dB bandwidth of more than 84 GHz, which is the highest bandwidth reported so far for broadband SiGe bipolar amplifiers. The resulting gain bandwidth product (GBW) is more than 840 GHz. The amplifier consumes a power of 990 mW at a supply of -5.5 V.

Sub 5 ps SiGe bipolar technology

A SiGe bipolar technology for mixed digital and analog RF applications is presented. Balanced device performance is achieved with a transit frequency f/sub T/ of 155 GHz at a collector emitter breakdown voltage BV/sub CEO/ of 1.9 V, a maximum oscillation frequency f/sub max/ of 167 GHz, and 4.7 ps ring oscillator gate delay. With a 99 GHz dynamic frequency divider and a 19 GHz LNA with 2.2 dB noise figure state-of-the-art results for high-speed digital and analog applications are demonstrated.

3.3 ps SiGe bipolar technology

A SiGe bipolar technology with a transit frequency of 225 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency of 300 GHz is described. With a ring oscillator gate delay of 3.3 ps and a static frequency divider operating up to 102 GHz input frequency state-of-the-art circuit performance is achieved.

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.

15 GHz wideband amplifier with 2.8 dB noise figure in SiGe bipolar technology

We present a wideband amplifier with 12 dB gain and a 3-dB bandwidth of 15 GHz. The noise figure is 2.8 dB for frequencies up to 10 GHz and 4 dB at 15 GHz. The circuit is manufactured in an advanced SiGe bipolar technology and consumes 7.2 mA from a 3.3 V supply.