William Vaillancourt

A 5 GHz 0.95 dB NF Highly Linear Cascode Floating-Body LNA in 180 nm SOI CMOS Technology

A 5 GHz CMOS LNA featuring a record 0.95 dB noise-figure is reported. Using an inductively-degenerated cascode topology combined with floating-body transistors and high-Q passives on an SOI substrate, record noise figure and superior linearity performance at 5 GHz are obtained. The low-noise amplifier (LNA) achieves up to 11 dB of gain while consuming 12 mW dc power, and is capable of supporting 802.11a WLAN applications. The impact of SOI body-contact on the LNA RF performance is described and linked to improved intermodulation performance.

A highly integrated dual-band SiGe power amplifier that enables 256 QAM 802.11ac WLAN radio front-end designs

A highly integrated SiGe BiCMOS PA is presented that enables the emerging high throughput 802.11ac WLAN applications. The PA has two stages for the g-band and three stages for the a-band PA, and integrates matching circuitry, out of band rejection filters, power detectors, and bias controls in a 1.5 ×1.6 mm chip. The g-band PA achieves 28 dB gain with 2% EVM at 18 dBm and 3% at 19.5 dBm output power. The a-band PA achieves 32 dB gain with 2% EVM at 18 dBm and 3% EVM at 19 dBm output power. The design is verified meeting not only the regulatory out-of-band emission requirements but also the linearity requirement of the emerging 256 QAM 802.11ac standard.

Novel double pole double throw switchplexer that simplifies dual-band WLAN and MIMO front-end module designs

a novel dual-band DPDT T/R switchplexer is presented. The switchplexer has a low-loss Tx path and a fully integrated Rx diplexer using die area ≪ 0.15 mm². Tx path has 0.1 dB compression at ≫ 31.8 dBm with 1 dB insertion loss (IL) and ≫ 20 dB isolation from 2.4 to 5.9 GHz. The switch features ultra low EVM distortion up to 26 dBm power input with harmonic emission ≪ −50 dBm. Rx path has switch and diplexer losses of 2.0 dB and 2.2 dB IL for ‘b/g’ and ‘a’ bands, respectively. The band selectivity is ≫ 15 dB. These unique features simplify the dual-band front-end by reducing the total number of ICs to 2 or 3 in a simple low cost package.

A highly integrated dual band SiGe BiCMOS power amplifier that simplifies dual-band WLAN and MIMO front-end circuit designs

A highly integrated SiGe BiCMOS power amplifier for dual-band WLAN applications is presented. The PA has 2 and 3 stages of amplification for the ‘b/g’ and ‘a’ band, respectively, and integrates the input/output matching network, out-of-band rejection filter, power detector, and bias control. The die area is 1.7 × 1.6 mm2. The b/g amplifier achieves 28 dB gain with 19.5 dBm output power at 3% EVM and 185mA and harmonics of < −45dBm/Mhz. The a-band amplifier achieves 30 dB gain with 3% EVM at 19.0 dBm output with 220mA of current and harmonics < −50 dBm/MHz. The reported PA linearity, out-of-band rejection, and integration level exceeds previously reported WLAN dual-band SiGe PA designs.

A 5 x 5 mm Highly Integrated Dual-band WLAN Front-End Module Simplifies 802.11 a/b/g and 802.11n Radio Designs

A highly integrated 5 x 5 x 0.9 mm dual-band wireless LAN front-end module (FEM) is presented. The FEM features 29 dB gain and 19 dBm at 54 Mbps with EVM < 3% and 180 mA for 2.4 to 2.5 GHz. For 4.9 to 5.9 GHz transmission, the FEM delivers 25 dB gain and 17 dBm at 54 Mbps with EVM < 3% and 195 mA. The FEMs receive chains can be realized either with LAN having >11.4 dB gain LNA gain with NF < 2.5 dB for the low band and < 2.8 dB for the high band or with used a RX diplexer with <1 insertion loss. The FEM significantly simplifies 802.11 a/b/g radio designs and provides an effective building block for multichannel 802.11n radios designs.

Innovative architecture for dual-band WLAN and MIMO frontend module based on a single pole, three throw switch-plexer

An innovative architecture for a dual-band front-end module (FEM) for WiFi and MIMO radios is presented. The FEM consists of a dual-band power amplifier and a SP3T switch-plexer. The SP3T switch-plexer has a SP3T switch and an integrated Rx diplexer. Tx switch paths show 0.1 dB compression at ≫ 33.5 dBm with ≪1 dB insertion loss (IL) along with ≫ 18 dB isolation. Rx switch/diplexer path has ≪ 2.0 dB IL for both bands. The band selectivity is ≫ 15 dB. These qualities simplify the construction of dual-band FEM by reducing assembly complexity and post PA loss resulting in a high band performance of 3% EVM at 18 dBm output and ≪ −50 dBm/MHz harmonic emissions in a 4 × 4 mm package.

Low power consumption 2.4 GHz WLAN front-end module for a multiple radio handset

A compact 5/spl times/6/spl times/1.4 mm/sup 3/ 2.4 GHz wireless LAN (WLAN) front-end module (FEM) is presented. The FEM features low power consumption of 145 mA for 18 dBm output with 3% EVM at 54 Mbps transmissions, <-170 dBm/Hz noise emission up to 2 GHz, and high out-of-band interference suppression, able to support a multi-radio handset with simultaneous operations. The FEM has a 30 dB in-band gain, >24 dB transmit/receive (T/R) isolation under 10:1 mismatch, an integrated regulator, and a temperature compensated power detector. All these unique features provide an easiest integration of a WLAN radio into a multi-radio handset.

Front-end modules with versatile dynamic EVM correction for 802.11 applications in the 2GHz band

A SiGe BiCMOS, CMOS/SOI front-end module (FEM) for WLAN applications in the 2GHz band is presented. In the transmit mode it delivers 29dB small-signal gain and 3% EVM at 19.3dBm. In the receive mode, it achieves a noise figure of 1.85dB, 14dB gain, and an IIP3 level of 3dBm with 9mA current consumption. The FEM employs bias control circuitry that can be configured to address the linearity requirements of the WLAN standards family under varying environmental and channel conditions, including the emerging 802.11ac standard.

Novel silicon-on-insulator SP5T switch-LNA front-end IC enabling concurrent dual-band 256-QAM 802.11ac WLAN radio operations

An innovative SOI SP5T switch-LNA integrated circuit is presented. The switch-LNA consists of a diplexer that provides out-of-band rejection and enables dual-band concurrent operation, a dual-band LNA with bypass attenuators, and three high linearity transmit paths. Tx paths feature 0.1 dB compression at >33 dBm input power, with >35 dB Tx to Rx isolation, and 0.8 and 1.2 dB insertion loss for low and high bands respectively. Receive paths feature 12 dB gain with 2.5-2.8 dB NF. Cascading the design with a dual-band WLAN PA, a complex dual-band front-end module can be easily constructed in a 3 x 4 mm package, which demonstrates transmit and receive LNA linearity with EVM <; 2% at >16 dBm and > - 5dBm output power respectively and compliant with the linearity requirements of the 802.11ac standard up to of 256-QAM 80 MHz operations.

Highly linear SOI single-pole, 4-throw switch with an integrated dual-band LNA and bypass attenuators

An innovative Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) SP4T T/R switch is presented. The SP4T switch consists of 2 receive paths with an integrated dual-band LNA and bypass attenuators along with 2 high linearity matched transmit paths. Tx paths feature 0.1 dB compression to 34 dBm input power and 0.5–0.8 dB insertion loss from 1 to 6 GHz with ≫ 20 dB return loss and ≫ 25 dB isolation. Receive paths feature 16 dB gain with 2.3 dB NF for 2.4–2.5 GHz and 14 dB gain with 2.4–2.6 dB NF for 4.9–5.9 GHz. The band selectivity exceeds 40 dB. Cascading with a dual-band WLAN PA, a complex dual-band WLAN/MIMO front-end module (FEM) can be easily constructed with low assembly complexity and post PA losses resulting in dual-band transmit linearity ≫18 dBm with EVM ≪ 3% and ≪ −50 dBm/MHz harmonic emissions within a 4 × 5 mm QFN package.