CHIC

Click Here for Free Open Access Full Paper pdf from IEEE Waveguiding across the visible spectrum in an unmodified bulk CMOS chip is reported. The chip is fabricated in a standard CMOS process, and a simple wet etch removes metal in predetermined locations to expose glass rib waveguides. A modified Euler bend is introduced to […]

Click Here for Free Open Access Full Paper pdf from IEEE Subtractive photonics is presented as a method for implementing photonic waveguides into any bulk CMOS or electronics process. Metal and glass are patterned in the backend layers by the foundry to reveal suspended dielectric waveguides when the metal is etched away. This method requires […]

Click Here for Free Open Access Full Paper pdf from IEEE Multi-beam relays can be used to overcome the non-line-of-sight (NLOS) issues in millimeter-wave (mm-wave) communication networks that serve many users in an obstruction-rich environment. We demonstrate a modular multi-beam relay array at 28 GHz, which is scalable and fully decentralized. The individual branches of […]

Click Here for Free Open Access Full Paper pdf from IEEE Shape-changing arrays are an emerging frontier of phased array development. These arrays fold, conform, and flex dynamically as they operate. In this work we describe the technology developments which have enabled their creation and use. We present the theoretical implications of aperture change for […]

Click Here for Free Open Access Full Paper pdf from Nature Complex and dynamic control of radiated fields are advantageous for flexible radio systems, which naturally move, roll, bend, twist, deform, and vibrate. Practical challenges hinder the proliferation of these antenna arrays. This work shows how using radio-frequency microchips reduces system component count, decreases mass […]

Click Here for Free Open Access Full Paper pdf from IEEE We introduce a thermo-optic phase shifter (TOPS) array architecture with independent phase control of each phase shifter for large-scale and high-density photonic integrated circuits with two different control schemes: pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) and pulse width modulation (PWM). We realize a compact spiral TOPS […]

Click Here for Free Open Access Full Paper pdf Integrated photonic active beamforming can significantly reduce the size and cost of coherent imagers for LiDAR and medical imaging applications. In current architectures, the complexity of photonic and electronic circuitry linearly increases with the desired imaging resolution. We propose a novel photonic transceiver architecture based on […]

Click Here for Free Open Access Full Paper pdf Silicon photonics is an emerging technology which, enabling nanoscale manipulation of light on chips, impacts areas as diverse as communications, computing, and sensing. Wavelength division multiplexing is commonly used to maximize throughput over a single optical channel by modulating multiple data streams on different wavelengths concurrently. […]

A solid-state active beamformer based on the annular-ring diffraction pattern is demonstrated in an integrated photonic platform. Such a circularly symmetric annular-ring aperture achieves a radiating element limited field of view. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that a multi-annular-ring aperture with a fixed linear density of elements maintains the beam efficiency for larger apertures while reducing […]

Click Here for Open Access Full Paper pdf from IEEE Optical synchronization of large-span arrays offers significant benefits over electrical methods in terms of the weight, cost, power dissipation, and complexity of the clock distribution network. This work presents the analysis and design of the first phased array transmitter synchronized using a fully monolithic CMOS […]

Click Here for Open Access Full Paper pdf from IEEE Silicon photonics (SiP) integrated coherent image sensors offer higher sensitivity and improved range-resolution-product compared to direct detection image sensors such as CCD and CMOS devices. Previous generations of SiP coherent imagers suffer from relative optical phase fluctuations between the signal and reference paths, which results […]

Click Here for Open Access Full Paper pdf from IEEE Flexible phased arrays potentially enable diverse applications not permitted by rigid systems; however, they introduce ambiguity in antenna element positions. If this position ambiguity can be overcome, flexible arrays can perform the full suite of array functions: beam steering, wavefront engineering, and beam focusing. Furthermore, […]

Click Here for Open Access Full Paper pdf from IEEE We present architectures, circuits, and algorithms for dynamic 3-D lensing and focusing of electromagnetic power in radiative near- and far-field regions by arrays that can be arbitrary and nonuniform. They can benefit applications such as wireless power transfer at a distance (WPT-AD), volumetric sensing and […]

Click Here for Open Access Full Paper pdf from IEEE This work proposes and demonstrates the scal- able router array that eliminates the internal centralization of conventional arrays, unlocking scalability, and the potential for a system composed of spatially separated elements that do not share a common timing reference. Architectural variations are presented, and their […]

Click Here for Open Access Full Paper pdf from IEEE Nano-photonic antennas are one of the key compo- nents in integrated photonic transmitter and receiver systems. Conventionally, grating couplers, designed to couple into an op- tical fiber, suffering from limitations such as large footprint and small field-of-view (FOV) have been used as on-chip antennas. The […]

Click Here for the Open Access Full Paper pdf from OSA Realization of a multilayer photonic process, as well as co-integration of a large number of photonic and electronic components on a single substrate, presents many advantages over conventional solutions and opens a pathway for various novel architectures and applications. Despite the many potential advantages, […]

Click Here for Open Access Full pdf file from ASC Cell-based therapies are becoming increasingly prominent in numerous medical contexts, particularly in regenerative medicine and the treatment of cancer. However, since the efficacy of the therapy is largely dependent on the concentration of therapeutic cells at the treatment area, a major challenge associated with cell-based therapies is the ability to […]

Click Here for Open Access pdf from Nature The need for lightweight, miniature imaging systems is becoming increasingly prevalent in light of the development of wearable electronics, iot devices, and drones. computational imaging enables new types of imaging systems that replace standard optical components like lenses with cleverly designed computational processes. traditionally, many of these types of […]

Proximal-field sensing is introduced as an integrated sensing scheme for the in situ characterization of far-field radi- ation properties of integrated radiators, and the proximal-field radiation sensors (PFRSs) are proposed as the tools to enable this capability. These sensors are integrated on the same dielectric substrate as the transmitting antennas and extract the existing information […]

Due to the chromatic dispersion properties inherent in all optical materials, even the best-designed multispectral objective will exhibit residual chromatic aberration. Here, we demonstrate a multispectral microscope with a computational scheme based on the Fourier ptychographic microscopy (FPM) to correct these effects in order to render undistorted, in-focus images. The microscope consists of 4 spectral […]

A general model of electrical oscillators under the influence of a periodic injection is presented. Stemming solely from the autonomy and periodic time variance inherent in all oscillators, the model’s underlying approach makes no assumptions about the topology of the oscillator or the shape of the injection waveform. A single first-order differential equation is shown […]

A number of specialized topics within the theory of injection locking and pulling are addressed. The material builds on our impulse sensitivity function (ISF)-based, time-synchronous model of electrical oscillators under the influence of a periodic injection. First, we show how the accuracy of this model forLC oscillators under large injection is greatly enhanced by accounting […]

Click Here for Open Access Full pdf from IEEE This paper presents the analysis and design of a novel magnetic sensor. We study the underlying physics of inductance shift sensors as a special case of the broader family of magnetic energy deviation sensors. The result is a quantitative definition of performance metrics with all assumptions […]

Phased arrays are multiple antenna systems capable of forming and steering beams electronically using constructive and destructive interference between sources. They are employed extensively in radar and communication systems but are typically rigid, bulky and heavy, which limits their use in compact or portable devices and systems. Here, we report a scalable phased array system […]

Click Here for Open Access Full Paper pdf from IEEE Integrated optical phased arrays (OPAs) capable of adaptive beamforming and beam steering enable a wide range of applications. For many of these applications, a large scale 2-D OPA with full phase control for each radiating element is essential to achieve a functional low-cost solution. However, […]

Optical gyroscopes measure the rate of rotation by exploiting a relativistic phenomenon known as the Sagnac effect. Such gyroscopes are great candidates for miniaturization onto nanophotonic platforms. However, the signal-to-noise ratio of optical gyroscopes is generally limited by thermal fluctuations, component drift and fabrication mismatch. Due to the comparatively weaker signal strength at the microscale, […]

Optical phased arrays (OPAs) on integrated photonic platforms provide a low-cost chip-scale solution for many applications. Despite the numerous demonstrations of OPA transmitters, the realization of a functional OPA receiver presents a challenge due to the low received signal level in the presence of noise and interference that necessitates high sensitivity of the receiver. In […]

Magnetic imagers, which utilize magnetic nanoparticles as labels to realize biodetection assays, hold significant promise for deployment at the point-of-use. Resonance-shift-based sensors can be realized in standard CMOS processes without post-process modifications and offer great sensitivity at low price tags. Unfortunately, CMOS resonant-shift magnetic sensors suffer significant degradation in SNR and long-term stability due to […]

Click Here for Open Access Full pdf from IEEE This paper presents the first integrated silicon photonics optical phased array (OPA) receiver with imaging capabilities. A 32-element one-dimensional (1-D) OPA with an overall aperture size of 96 Å~ 50 μm2 is used to generate an electrically steerable “gazing beam.” The OPA receiver elements couple the incident light to […]

A new perspective into the locking behavior of LC and ring oscillators is presented. By decomposing a sinusoidal injection current into in-phase and quadrature-phase components, exact expressions for the amplitude and phase of an injection-locked LC oscillator which hold for any injection strength and frequency are derived and confirmed by simulation. The analysis, which can […]

Magnetic drug delivery is a promising therapeutic because of magnetic fields’ ability to permeate unperturbed in human tissue. One of the long-standing challenges in magnetic drug delivery is the inability to generate 3D aggregation non-invasively within the interior of the body. Earnshaw’s theorem, which proves the impossibility of creating an energetic minimum in a curl-free […]

We present an extension of the double-balanced current-commutating analog multiplier (also known as the Gilbert cell) that enables the multiplication of an arbitrary number of signed differential input voltages. A general analysis of the circuit for an arbitrary device nonlinearity is provided, and simulations on a bulk CMOS process as well as measurement results of […]

Compact power splitters designed ab initio using binary particle swarm optimization in a 2D mesh for a standard foundry silicon photonic platform are studied. Designs with a 4.8 μm × 4.8 μm footprint composed of 200 nm × 200 nm and 100 nm × 100 nm cells are demonstrated. Despite not respecting design rules, the […]

It is shown that for systems with no zeros and no complex poles, the classical estimate of the 3 dB cutoff frequency based on the sum of the zero-value time constants (ZVTs) is always conservative. The opposite problem is also solved, whereby a non-trivial upper bound on the cutoff frequency which depends only on the […]

Simultaneous two-dimensional (2-D) beam steering and dynamic polarization control (DPC) of the radiated electric field in 2-D phased arrays ensure polarization matching between the transmitter and receiver antennas in both fixed and mobile wireless systems. Polarization matching is maintained regardless of the polarization, orientation, and location of the receiver antenna in space within the 2-D […]

A compact second harmonic 180 GHz I/Q balanced resistive mixer is realized in a 32-nm SOI CMOS technology for atmospheric remote sensing applications. The MMIC further includes two on-chip IF amplifiers at the mixer’s I and Q channels. A conversion gain of  8 dB is achieved with 74 mW of dc power consumption using a 1.2 […]

The feasibility of using CMOS technology for RF amplification in atmospheric remote sensing receiver is studied. The design and measurement results of a 200-GHz low-noise amplifier which is fabricated using a 32-nm SOI CMOS technology are presented. The 8-stage amplifier in a common-source configuration achieves a 9-dB noise figure and 25-dB gain with a power […]

In this paper, we introduce the concept of near-field synchronization as an efficient, scalable, and robust method to synchronize a 2-D array of mutually coupled oscillators for beam-forming at frequencies above fmax of a technology. The method employs an array of on-chip sense antennas to probe electromagnetic near-fields of the on-chip radiators. These sense antennas […]

Low-power integrated projection technology can play a key role in development of low-cost mobile devices with built-in high-resolution projectors. Low-cost 3D imaging and holography systems are also among applications of such a technology. In this paper, an integrated projection system based on a two-dimensional optical phased array with fast beam steering capability is reported. Forward […]

The segmented power-mixer array based mm-wave power generation architecture is demonstrated to be an en- ergy-efficient technique for generating high-speed nonconstant envelope modulations. High output power levels are achieved by efficiently combining power from several power mixers using an area efficient dual-primary distributed active transformer. The segmented scheme leads to back-off efficiency improvements while simultaneously […]

Dynamic polarization control (DPC) is the method of setting the polarization of the far-field electric field generated by a radiating antenna entirely electronically in order to maintain polarization matching with the receiving antenna regardless of its polarization or orientation in space. This work implements a fully integrated 2 × 1 phased array radiator in 32 […]

In this paper, we report an integrated silicon-based active imaging chipset with a detector array in 0.13 μm SiGe process and a CMOS-based source array operating in the 240–290 GHz range. The chipset operates at room-temperature with no external RF or optical sources, high-resistivity silicon lenses (HRSi) or waveguides or any custom fabrication options, such […]

Electromagnetic duality is used to design a multi-port traveling-wave slot-ring antenna with on-chip driver circuitry to create a fully integrated radiator. By creating a slot version of the multi-port driven antenna, the required exclusive use area of the antenna is significantly decreased, while still being able to perform impedance matching, power combining, and power transfer off chip through electromagnetic radiation in […]

Immunotherapy is currently being investigated for the treatment of many diseases, including cancer. The ability to control the location of immune cells during or following activation would represent a powerful new technique for this field. Targeted magnetic delivery is emerging as a technique for controlling cell movement and localization. Here we show that this technique […]

An integrated silicon nanophotonic coherent imager (NCI), with a 4 × 4 array of coherent pixels is reported. In the proposed NCI, on-chip optical processing determines the intensity and depth of each point on the imaged object based on the instantaneous phase and amplitude of the optical wave incident on each pixel. The NCI operates […]

A self-correcting quadrature voltage controlled oscillator (QVCO) with phase correcting loop is proposed. It comprises the QVCO core and phase correcting loop, which corrects the quadrature phase error. Two LC VCOs, buffers, and phase shifters are coupled in circular configuration to achieve IQ symmetry. This paper introduces the idea of realizing QVCO with low phase […]

The core requirements for point-of-care (POC) diagnostics necessitate low-cost, portability, easily integrated sample preparation, and quick measurement time. Frequency-shift based magnetic sensing is a measurement technique utilizing a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) integrated- circuit (IC) chip for magnetic label detection. The sensing scheme leverages the low-cost manufacturing of IC chips while demonstrating the potential for multiplexing […]

Magnetic spectroscopy allows for characterization of the magnetic susceptibility of magnetic beads across a broad frequency range. This enables differentiation and quantification of multiple beads of varying types concurrently present in the active volume of a sensor’s surface. A magnetic spectrometer can be used for multi-probe tagging and identification akin to multicolor fluorescent bio-sensing. We […]

Integrated multi-port driven (MPD) radiator design is presented as an approach that takes advantage of the increased design space offered by using a hybrid design of an antenna with multiple ports and its driver circuitry integrated together on a single substrate. This reduces costly losses by eliminating independent elements for power combination, output impedance matching […]

Self-healing as a technique for improving performance and yield of millimeter-wave power amplifiers (PAs) against process variation and transistor mismatch, load impedance mismatch, and partial and total transistor failure is described and investigated. A 28-GHz PA is presented with three types of sensors, two types of actuators, data converters, and a digital algorithm block that […]

Cell-based sensing represents a new paradigm for performing direct and accurate detection of cell- or tissue-specific responses by incorporating living cells or tissues as an integral part of a sensor. Here we report a new magnetic cell-based sensing platform by combining magnetic sensors implemented in the complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) integrated microelectronics process with cardiac progenitor […]

In this paper, we present a scalable transmitter architecture for power generation and beam-steering at THz frequencies using a centralized frequency reference, sub-harmonic signal distribution, and local phase control. The power generation and radiator core is based on a novel method called distributed active radiation, which enables high conversion efficiency from DC to radiated terahertz power above fmax of a […]

In this paper, the design of a wide-swing low-noise transconductance amplifier (LNTA) is presented in the context of passive mixer-based direct-conversion RF receivers, noting that the compression performance of such systems is limited by the initial voltage-to-current conversion. The proposed LNTA utilizes a stacked PMOS/NMOS common-gate configuration with its input common-mode voltage maintained by a […]

A new interconnect solution with plastic waveguide is demonstrated. The system consists of a pair of transceivers and a plastic waveguide. Millimeter wave signal is transmitted in a low-cost long piece of solid plastic dielectric acting as a waveguide. The plastic waveguide medium offers a large bandwidth for data communication using mm-wave carrier frequencies. Plastic […]

In this paper, a general framework for the adaptive feedforward cancellation of higher order intermodulation distortion (IMD) products is presented. By generating only second-order and principal-odd-order IMD reference products in the RF/analog domain and reproducing higher order IMD reference products at digital baseband, the proposed reference distortion scheme minimizes the analog hardware burden on the system. Inherent in this procedure is an […]

Motivated by different applications in circuits, electromagnetics, and optics, this paper is concerned with the synthesis of a particular type of linear circuit, where the circuit is associated with a control unit. The objective is to design a controller for this control unit such that certain specifications on the parameters of the circuit are satisfied. […]

Ten years ago, it was widely accepted conventional wisdom that watt level fully integrated power amplifiers (PAs) were not feasible in standard complimentary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. Today, millions of such devices are commercially produced and shipped every month and are used in hundreds of millions of cellular phones across the world. Such dramatic transition from […]

A transformer-based high-order output matching network is proposed for broadband power amplifier design, which provides optimum load impedance for maximum output power within a wide operating frequency range. A design methodology to convert a canonical bandpass network to the proposed matching configuration is also presented in detail. As a design example, a push-pull deep class-AB PA is implemented with a third-order output […]

A novel millimeter-wave Intra-Connect solution for short range, high speed, internal I/O connections in low-power logic 40 nm CMOS process is demonstrated. The system consists of a transmitter and a receiver that uses binary amplitude shift keying (ASK) modulation for a compact and power efficient de- sign. The receiver realizes coherent demodulation using injection locking […]

The generalized method of time and transfer con- stants is introduced. It can be used to determine the transfer function to the desired level of accuracy in terms of time and transfer constants of first-order systems using exclusively low frequency calculations. This method can be used to determine the poles and zeros of circuits with […]

The power mixer array is presented as a novel power generation approach for non-constant envelope signals. It comprises several power mixer units that are dynamically turned on and off to improve the linearity and back-off efficiency. At the circuit level, the power mixer unit can operate as a switching amplifier to achieve high peak power […]

Adaptive feedforward error cancellation applied to correct distortion arising from third-order nonlinearities in RF receivers requires low-noise low-power reference cubic nonidealities. Multistage cubic-term generators utilizing cascaded nonlinear operations are ideal in this regard, but the frequency response of the interstage circuitry can introduce errors into the cubing operation. In this paper, an overview of the use of cubic-term generators in receivers relative […]

An effective linearization technique capable of equalizing IM3 products resulting from an arbitrary out-of-band blocking scenario in a wideband direct conversion receiver is presented. IM3 products are regenerated in the RF analog domain of a low-power mixed-signal feedforward path and are used to cancel analogous signal terms in the original receiver at digital baseband via […]

An integrated spectral-scanning nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) transceiver is implemented in a 0.12 m SiGe BiCMOS process. The MRI transmitter and receiver circuitry is designed specifically for small-scale surface MRI diagnostics applications where creating low (below 1 T) and inhomogeneous magnetic field is more practical. The operation frequency for magnetic resonance detection and analysis is tunable from 1 kHz to 37 […]

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This paper reports a SAW-less direct-conversion receiver which utilizes a mixed-signal feedforward path to regenerate and adaptively cancel IM3 products, thus accomplishing system-level linearization. The receiver system performance is dominated by a custom integrated RF front end implemented in 130-nm CMOS and achieves an uncorrected out-of-band IIP3 of 7.1 dBm under the worst-case UMTS FDD Region 1 blocking specifications. Under IM3 equalization, […]

This paper reports a 6-to-18 GHz integrated phased array receiver implemented in 130-nm CMOS. The receiver is easily scalable to build a very large-scale phased-array system. It concurrently forms four independent beams at two different frequencies from 6 to 18 GHz. The nominal conversion gain of the receiver ranges from 16 to 24 dB over the entire band while the worst-case […]

A near-field direct antenna modulation (NFDAM) technique is introduced, where the radiated far-field signal is modulated by time-varying changes in the antenna near-field electromagnetic (EM) boundary conditions. This enables the transmitter to send data in a direction-dependent fashion producing a secure communication link. Near-field direct antenna modulation (NFDAM) can be performed by using either switches […]

Concentric distributed active transformers (DAT) are used to implement a fully-integrated quad-band power amplifier (PA) in a standard 130 nm CMOS process. The DAT enables the power amplifier to integrate the input and output matching networks on the same silicon die. The PA integrates on-chip closed loop power control and operates under supply voltages from 2.9 V to 5.5 V in […]

We describe how a 2-D rectangular lattice of inductors and capacitors can serve as an analog Fourier transform de- vice, generating an approximate discrete Fourier transform (DFT) of an arbitrary input vector of fixed length. The lattice displays diffractive and refractive effects and mimics the combined optical effects of a thin-slit aperture and lens. Diffraction […]

Sensors based on nanoelectromechanical systems vibrating at high and ultrahigh frequencies1 are capable of levels of performance that surpass those of larger sensors. Nanoelectromechanical devices have achieved unprecedented sensitivity in the detection of displacement2, mass3, force4 and charge5. To date, these milestones have been achieved with passive devices that require external periodic or impulsive stimuli to excite them into resonance. Here, […]

Millimeter-waves integrated circuits offer a unique opportunity for a holistic design approach encompassing RF, analog, and digital, as well as radiation and electromagnetics. The ability to deal with the complete system covering a broad range from the digital circuitry to on-chip antennas and everything in between offers unparalleled opportunities for completely new architectures and topologies, which were previously impossible due the […]

In this paper, we present a comprehensive stochastic model describing the measurement uncertainty, output signal, and limits of detection of affinity-based biosensors. The biochemical events within the biosensor platform are modeled by a Markov stochastic process, describing both the probabilistic mass transfer and the interactions of analytes with the capturing probes. To generalize this model and incorporate the detection […]

A novel breakdown voltage (BV) multiplier is introduced that makes it possible to generate high output voltage swings using transistors with low breakdown voltages. The timing analysis of the stage is used to optimize its dynamic response. A 10 Gb/s optical modulator driver with a differential output voltage swing of 8 V on a 50 load was implemented in a SiGe […]

A 77-GHz, +17.5 dBm power amplifier (PA) with fully integrated 50- input and output matching and fabricated in a 0.12- m SiGe BiCMOS process is presented. The PA achieves a peak power gain of 17 dB and a maximum single-ended output power of 17.5 dBm with 12.8% of power-added efficiency (PAE). It has a 3-dB bandwidth of 15 GHz and draws […]

Integration of mm-wave multiple-antenna systems on silicon-based processes enables complex, low-cost systems for high frequency communication and sensing applications. In this paper, the transmitter and LO-path phase-shifting sections of the first fully integrated 77-GHz phased-array transceiver are presented. The SiGe transceiver utilizes a local LO-path phase-shifting architecture to achieve beam steering and includes four transmit and receive elements, along with the LO […]

In this paper, we present the receiver and the on-chip antenna sections of a fully integrated 77-GHz four-element phased-array transceiver with on-chip antennas in silicon. The receiver section of the chip includes the complete down-conversion path comprising low-noise amplifier (LNA), frequency synthesizer, phase rotators, combining amplifiers, and on-chip dipole antennas. The signal combining is performed using a novel distributed active combining amplifier […]

This paper describes the design of an integrated coupled-oscillator array in SiGe for millimeter-wave applications. The design focuses on a scalable radio architecture where multiple dies are tiled to form larger arrays. A 2 2 oscillator array for a 60-GHz transmitter is fabricated with integrated power amplifiers and on-chip antennas. To lock between multiple dies, an injection-locking scheme appropriate for wire-bond […]

The authors demonstrate Brownian-noise-limited operation of an optomechanical oscillator, wherein mechanical oscillations of a silica optical microcavity are sustained by means of radiation pressure. Using phase noise measurement above threshold, it has been shown that the short-term line width of mechanical oscillations is fundamentally broadened, limited by thermal equipartition of energy.

We present for the first time a detailed experimental study of the oscillation frequency, linewidth, RF spectrum and the phase noise of a radiation-pressure-driven micromechanical oscillator in a microtoroid geometry. Through this study we identify the critical parameters for optimal operation of this device and derive key expressions for tailoring the desired characteristics. The outcome of this study […]

A novel approach to equalization of high-speed serial links combines both amplitude pre-emphasis to correct for intersymbol interference and phase pre-emphasis to compensate for deterministic jitter, in particular, data-dependent jitter. Phase preemphasis augments the performance of low power transmitters in bandwidth-limited channels. The transmitter circuit is implemented in a 90-nm bulk CMOS process and reduces power consumption by pushing CMOS static logic […]

A novel jitter equalization circuit is presented that addresses crosstalk-induced jitter in high-speed serial links. A simple model of electromagnetic coupling demonstrates the generation of crosstalk-induced jitter. The analysis highlights unique aspects of crosstalk-induced jitter that differ from far-end crosstalk. The model is used to predict the crosstalk-induced jitter in 2-PAM and 4-PAM, which is compared to measurement. Furthermore, the model suggests […]

Abstract—Data-dependent jitter limits the bit-error rate (BER) performance of broadband communication systems and aggravates synchronization in phase-and delay-locked loops used for data recovery. A method for calculating the data-dependent jitter in broadband systems from the pulse response is discussed. The impact of jitter on conventional clock and data recovery circuits is studied in the time and frequency domain. The deterministic nature of […]

We propose a class of electrical circuits for extremely wideband
EWB signal shaping. A one-dimensional, nonlinear, nonuniform transmission line is proposed for narrow pulse generation. A two-dimensional transmission lattice is proposed for EWB signal combining. Model equations for the circuits are derived. Theoretical and numerical solutions of the model equations are presented, showing that the circuits can be used […]

This paper presents the first fully integrated 24-GHz phased-array transmitter designed using 0.18- m CMOS transistors. The four-element array includes four on-chip CMOS power amplifiers, with outputs matched to 50 , that are each capable of generating up to 14.5 dBm of output power at 24 GHz. The heterodyne transmitter has a two-step quadrature up-conversion architecture with local oscillator (LO) frequencies of […]

An eye-opening monitor (EOM) architecture that can capture a two-dimensional (2-D) map of the eye diagram of a high speed data signal has been developed. Two single-quadrant phase rotators and one digital-to-analog converter (DAC) are used to generate rectangular masks with variable sizes and aspect ratios. Each mask is overlapped with the received eye diagram and the number of signal transitions […]

We present a method for predicting data-dependent jitter (DDJ) introduced by a general linear time-invariant LTI system based on the system’s unit step response. We express the exact DDJ of a first-order system and verify the validity of the solution experimentally. We then propose a perturbation technique to generalize the analytical expression for DDJ. We highlight the significance of the unit […]

Silicon offers a new set of possibilities and challenges for RF, microwave, and millimeter-wave applications. While the high cutoff frequencies of the SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors and the ever-shrinking feature sizes of MOSFETs hold a lot of promise, new design techniques need to be devised to deal with the realities of these technologies, such as low breakdown voltages, lossy substrates, low-Q […]

A 24-GHz +14.5-dBm fully integrated power amplifier with on-chip 50-input and output matching is demonstrated in 0.18- m CMOS. The use of substrate-shielded coplanar waveguide structures for matching networks results in low passive loss and small die size. Simple circuit techniques based on stability criteria derived result in an unconditionally stable amplifier. The power amplifier […]

An alternative architecture for instantaneous data recovery for burst-mode communication is introduced. The architecture can perform 1: demultiplexing without additional clock recovery phase-locked loop or sampling blocks. A finite-state machine (FSM) is formed with combinational logic and analog LC transmission line delay cells in a feedback loop. The FSM responds to input data transitions instantaneously and sets the outputs. The system reduces […]

Nonlinear transmission lines (NLTL) are used for pulse shaping. We developed the theory of pulse propagation through the NLTL. The problem of a wide pulse degenerating into multiple pulses rather than a single pulse is solved by using a gradually scaled NLTL. We exploit certain favorable properties of accumulation-mode MOS varactors to design an NLTL […]

A local-oscillator phase-shifting approach is introduced to implement a fully integrated 24-GHz phased-array receiver using an SiGe technology. Sixteen phases of the local oscillator are generated in one oscillator core, resulting in a raw beam-forming accuracy of 4 bits. These phases are distributed to all eight receiving paths of the array by a symmetric network. The appropriate phase for each path […]

This paper reports the first fully integrated 24-GHz eight-element phased-array receiver in a SiGe BiCMOS technology. The receiver utilizes a heterodyne topology and the signal combining is performed at an IF of 4.8 GHz. The phase-shifting with 4 bits of resolution is realized at the LO port of the first down-conversion mixer. A ring LC voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) generates 16 different […]

An analysis for calculating data-dependent jitter (DDJ) in a first-order system is introduced. The predicted DDJ features unique threshold crossing times with self-similar geometry. An approximation for DDJ in second-order systems is described in terms of the damping factor and natural frequency. Higher order responses demonstrate conditions under which unique threshold crossing times do not exist and total jitter is minimized. The […]

A technique for bandwidth enhancement of a given amplifier is presented. Adding several interstage passive matching networks enables the control of transfer function and frequency response behavior. Parasitic capacitances of cascaded gain stages are isolated from each other and absorbed into passive networks. A simplified design procedure, using well-known low-pass filter component values, is introduced. To demonstrate the feasibility of the method, […]

Phased array systems, a special case of MIMO systems, take advantage of spatial directivity and array gain to increase spectral efficiency. Implementing a phased array system at high frequency in a commercial silicon process technology presents several challenges. This article focuses on the architectural and circuit-level trade-offs involved in the design of the first silicon-based fully integrated phased array system operating at 24 GHz. […]

This paper reports the first 24-GHz CMOS front-end in a 0.18- m process. It consists of a low-noise amplifier (LNA) and a mixer and down converts an RF input at 24GHz to an IF of 5 GHz. It has a power gain of 27.5 dB and an overall noise figure of 7.7 dB with an input return loss, S11 […]

Intersymbol interference (ISI) caused by intermodal dispersion in multimode fibers is the major limiting factor in the achievable data rate or transmission distance in high-speed multimode fiber-optic links for local area networks applications. Compared with optical-domain and other electrical-domain dispersion compensation methods, equalization with transversal filters based on distributed circuit techniques presents a cost-effective and low power solution. The design of integrated […]

A new family of switching amplifiers, each member having some of the features of both class E and inverse F, is introduced. These class-E/F amplifiers have class-E features such as incorporation of the transistor parasitic capacitance into the circuit, exact truly switching time-domain solutions, and allowance for zero-voltage-switching operation. Additionally, some number of harmonics may be tuned in the fashion of […]

This paper presents a new physical theory of oscillator phase noise. Built around the concept of phase diffusion, this work bridges the fundamental physics of noise and existing oscillator phase-noise theories. The virtual damping of an ensemble of oscillators is introduced as a measure of phase noise. The explanation of line width compression through virtual damping provides a unified view of […]

A novel noise-shifting differential Colpitts VCO is presented. It uses current switching to lower phase noise by cyclostationary noise alignment and improve the start-up condition. A design strategy is also devised to enhance the phase noise performance of quadrature coupled oscillators. Two integrated VCOs are presented as design examples.

The phase noise of a distributed oscillator is evaluated very simply by identifying an effective capacitance equal to the total capacitance distributed along the transmission lines. The contributions of the various passive and active noise sources to the total phase noise are calculated revealing several guidelines for improved distributed oscillator designs.

A novel on-chip impedance matching and power combining method, the distributed active transformer is presented. It combines several low-voltage push–pull amplifiers efficiently with their outputs in series to produce a larger output power while maintaining a 50- match. It also uses virtual ac grounds and magnetic couplings extensively to eliminate the need for any off chip component, such as tuned bonding wires […]

Theoretical limits for the capacitance density of integrated capacitors with combined lateral and vertical field components are derived. These limits are used to investigate the efficiency of various capacitive structures such as lateral flux and quasifractal capacitors. This study leads to two new capacitor structures with high lateral-field efficiencies. These new capacitors demonstrate larger capacities, superior matching properties, tighter tolerances, and higher […]

“Distributed integrated circuits are presented as “a methodology to design high-frequency commu- nication building blocks. Distributed circuits oper- ate based on multiple parallel signal path s working in synchronization that can be used to enhance the frequency of operation, combine power, and enhance the robustness of the design. These multiple signal paths usually result i n […]

In this paper, we compare the performance of the newly introduced distributed active transformer (DAT) structure to that of conventional on-chip impedance-transformations methods. Their fundamental power-efficiency limitations in the design of high-power fully integrated amplifiers in standard silicon process technologies are analyzed. The DAT is demonstrated to be an efficient impedance-transformation and power-combining method, which combines several low-voltage push–pull amplifiers in series by […]

The concept of concurrent multiband low-noise-amplifiers (LNAs) is introduced. A systematic way to design concurrent multiband integrated LNAs in general is developed. Applications of concurrent multiband LNAs in concurrent multiband receivers together with receiver architecture are discussed. Experimental results of a dual-band LNA implemented in a 0.35- m CMOS technology as a demonstration of the concept and theory is presented.

Underlying physical mechanisms controlling the noise properties of oscillators are studied. This treatment shows the importance of inductance selection for oscillator noise optimization. A design strategy centered around an inductance selection scheme is executed using a practical graphical optimization method to optimize phase noise subject to design constraints such as power dissipation, tank amplitude, tuning range, startup condition, and diameters of spiral […]

Distributed voltage-controlled oscillators (DVCOs) are presented as a new approach to the design of silicon VCOs at microwave frequencies. In this paper, the operation of distributed oscillators is analyzed and the general oscillation condition is derived, resulting in analytical expressions for the frequency and amplitude. Two tuning techniques for DVCOs are demonstrated, namely, the inherent-varactor tuning and delay-balanced current- steering tuning. A […]

Linear time-invariant (LTI) phase noise theories provide important qualitative design insights but are limited in their quantitative predictive power. Part of the difficulty is that device noise undergoes multiple frequency translations to become oscillator phase noise. A quantitative understanding of this process requires abandoning the principle of time invariance assumed in most older theories of phase noise. Fortunately, the noise-to-phase transfer function […]

A companion analysis of clock jitter and phase noise of single-ended and differential ring oscillators is presented. The impulse sensitivity functions are used to derive expressions for the jitter and phase noise of ring oscillators. The effect of the number of stages, power dissipation, frequency of oscillation, and short channel effects on the jitter and phase noise of ring oscillators […]

An analysis of phase noise in differential crosscoupled inductance–capacitance (LC) oscillators is presented. The effect of tail current and tank power dissipation on the voltage amplitude is shown. Various noise sources in the complementary cross-coupled pair are identified, and their effect on phase noise is analyzed. The predictions are in good agreement with measurements over a large range of tail currents […]

A linear capacitor structure using fractal geometries is described. This capacitor exploits both lateral and vertical electric fields to increase the capacitance per unit area. Compared to standard parallel-plate capacitors, the parasitic bottom plate capacitance is reduced. Unlike conventional metal-to-metal capacitors, the capacitance density increases with technology scaling. A classic fractal structure is implemented with 0.6-m metal spacing, and a factor of […]

A general model is introduced which is capable of making accurate, quantitative predictions about the phase noise of different types of electrical oscillators by acknowledging the true periodically time-varying nature of all oscillators. This new approach also elucidates several previously unknown design criteria for reducing close-in phase noise by identifying the mechanisms by which intrinsic device noise and external noise sources contribute […]