Mm-Wave Sige Soc: E & D Band TRX Front-End for P2P Radio Links

WS-01 Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling & circuits for 5G, radar & imaging

http://tima.univ-grenoble-alpes.fr/taranto/ Mm-wave SiGe SoC: E & D band TRX front-end for P2P radio links

Alessandro Fonte#1, Fabio Plutino#1, Traversa Antonio#1, Pasquale Tommasino#2, Alessandro Trifiletti#2, Saleh Karman#3, Salvatore Levantino#3, Luca Larcher#4, Luca Aluigi#4, Carmine Mustacchio#5, Luigi Boccia#5, Andrea Mazzanti#6, Francesco Svelto#6, Andrea Pallotta#7 #1SIAE MICROELETTRONICA, Italy; #2Università di Roma "La Sapienza", Italy; #3Politecnico di Milano, Italy; #4Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia Italy; #5Universitá della Calabria Italy; #6Università di Pavia, Italy, #7ST-microelectronics, Italy [email protected] Outline

• Intro • Application scenario • Project definition and involved partners • Specifications • E-band TX and RX testchips and D-band ext. module • Test board and E-band transitions • E- and D-band building blocks • Conclusions

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 2 - Intro (1/2)

• The advent of 4G, and 5G in the future, brings with it a huge amount of traffic data which can saturate existing networks. • Radio spectrum up to 42 GHz has become congested due to the high demand and bands wider than 28/56 MHz are often not available • Up to 42 GHz the maximum channel bandwidth is 112 MHz and, with a very complex modulation (i.e. 4096-QAM), the maximum throughput is about 1Gbps.

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 3 - Intro (2/2)

• The rise of the mobile data will trigger the demand for increased bandwidth and spectrum for mobile backhauling

• Today the best frequency band to cover these needs is the 70-90 GHz frequency band (E-band)

• E-band radio-based equipment set itself up as a suitable solution for several reasons: • the high capacity that can be reached (with 10 GHz of spectrum available); • the possibility to have very large channel bandwidths (up to 2 GHz); • the links are often licensed under a "light license" process so that the licenses can be obtained quickly and cheaply by providing, at a fraction of the cost, the full benefits of traditional link licenses;

E band (71–76 and 81–86 GHz) 19 paired, 250MHz-channels (10 GHz BW)

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 4 - Scenario (1/2)

• In order to guarantee a future massive deployment, it is necessary to reduce the costs and increase the performance. • Silicon-Germanium BiCMOS technologies will be a breakthrough in the system concept enabling a mixed signal design (mmWave, base band and digital functionalities) based on the same process and embedded into a single chip; ATPC

18GHz Radio 18GHz Radio 1 Gpbs E-band Radio 10 Gpbs E-band Radio

Link aggregation: The idea is to use mmWave radio in conjunction with microwave radio in order to enhance network throughput and to guarantee (due to 18GHz link) a higher availability for essential services.

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 5 - Scenario (2/2)

• In the coming years the fixed wireless broadband services will be pushed towards higher frequency bands, extending the “spectrum frontier” further beyond 90 GHz, so that additional spectrum will be available to cope with the capacity needs. The D-band (110-170 GHz) can cover this demand

D-band Radio more then 10 Gpbs D-band Radio

D band (130 – 174 GHz) 122 paired/unpaired 250 MHz- channels (30.5 GHz BW)

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 6 - Project definition and involved partners

. Building blocks for a complete E-band (with D-band ext.) radio transceiver front-end in SiGe BiCMOS technology by ST-microelectronics . Integration of all the developed building blocks in a module as a proof of concept: “Advanced multi-GigaBit” E-band radio transceiver front- end for mm-wave back-hauling application

. SIAE Microelettronica SPA (Italy) . ST MICROELECTRONICS SRL(Italy) . Università degli studi di Pavia (Italy) . Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia (Italy) . Politecnico di Milano (Italy) . Università degli studi di Roma La Sapienza (Italy) Università degli . Università della Calabria (Italy) Studi di Pavia

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 7 - Specifications

System specifications: • Specifications for E-band RX and TX chains:

E-band Receiver: E-band Transmitter:

RF input frequency 71 ÷ 86 GHz RF frequency band 71 ÷ 86 BB output frequency I / Q (0 ÷ 2 GHz) IF frequency band DC ÷ 3 GHz IF output frequency I / Q (10.14 ÷ 12.3 GHz) RF output return loss ≥ 10 dB LO input return loss ≥ 10 dB Input matching  10 dB IF input return loss ≥ 10 dB

Output impedance 100 ohm (differential) IF input Impedance (I/Q) 100 ohm (differential) Output matching  10 dB -5 dBm … -13 dBm Input signal level RF Input power from -80 dB to -20 dBm (4 QAM … 1024 QAM) RF-VGA dynamic range 26 dB 20 dBm ... 12 dBm Output Power Conversion gain (I+Q) 14 dB (4 QAM ... 1024 QAM) Input IP3  6.5 dBm (@ Gmin) Pmin 0 dBm Conversion Gain 25 dB Noise figure  7.5 dB In band Tx S/N > 137dBc/Hz RF OP1dB ≥ 23 dBm

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 8 - E-band TX and RX testchips

• E-band receiver has been defined in order to work both as homodyne and heterodyne receiver; it will provide base-band I and Q differential output signals (0-2 GHz) or I and Q differential output signals around an intermediate frequency (i.e. 11 GHz). • E-band transmitter has been defined in order to work as homodyne transmitter; it will manage base-band I and Q differential input signals, from 0 to 3 GHz.

Analog control [V] Analog control [V] Detector 1 Detector 2

Digital z E-band Modulator E-band PA E-band Demodulator control* I+ H I+ z G O z z

H p 2 H H G

Transition Q Transition

1 t

I- I G G

N A

I- 2 Mixer

& ÷ Mixer T 7 7 : :

+ N I

÷ I U

0 I 8 0 -

BUFFER & ÷ 0 1 O

F PA ÷ ÷ VLNA T

3 = =

Q+ R F T T Q - U 0 0 Q+

U G U R 7 7 O O O H = = f f I

F N : z : I Q- R f Q- f A B Q I Q T T U U O

O 2 L O 2 L I C I C ILOx6 0 / 90° ILOx6 0 / 90° ) z

) Buffer Optional H Buffer z Optional H G 7 G 8 7 Digital ÷ 8 Digital Buffer 8 ÷

Buffer . 8 0 . 6 0 ( 6 ( interface interface

LO in f =12.8 ÷ 15.3 GHz LO in fLO=12.8 ÷ 15.3 GHz LO RX X-Band PLL X-Band PLL TX External External DCO DPLL DCO DPLL reference reference Buffer Oscil. Buffer Oscil. (100 MHz) (100 MHz)

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 9 - D-band TX extension module

• SiGe D-band TX extension module has been defined in order to up- convert the E-band TX output signal at D-band

• Key challenges addressed: • Validation of PDK models • Optimization of passive components (capacitors, inductors, TLINEs) • Development of design and verification flow

Analog control [V] Detector 1 Detector 2 D-band section Detector 2

E-band Modulator E-band PA D-band Up-converter I+

O Analog control [V] Detector 1 Detector 2 Detector 2 p Transition t I Mixer N A I- Mixer E-band Modulator D-band Up-converter N : : E-band PA I I&Q IN

0 I RF OUT I+

O O I F & ÷ RF-OUT PA N PA p p

R Transition 3 t t Mixer

Q+ B A fRF=130 ÷ 174 GHz : I- Q Mixer

: : G I

8 0

RF OUT z

& ÷ H ÷ D-band TX PA

I 3 Q+ fRF=130 ÷ 174 GHz H 1

z G Q Q- WR6 4 H G

T z G

Q- H WR6 H U 7 G

Q z extension molule

8 O 7 f=60.8 ÷ 87 GHz

E-band radio 8

÷ F

LO OUT1 ÷

R 5 T 0 6

in ST SiGe r U 7 = e e f l t O = f b

F Buffer a h O

2 s R

transmittes r in ST DCO

x6 s L f DPLL 0 / 90° SPI e I C #1 a s

p BiCMOS 55nm

a registers y h B

ILOx6 0 / 90° x6 12.6 ÷ 14.5 GHz p

) Quartz Buffer Buffer z Optional XO DCO

H SiGe BiCMOS 55nm (114 MHz) (10.14÷14.5GHz) (60.8÷87GHz)

G #2 7

8 Digital Buffer ÷ 10.14 ÷ 12.6 GHz 8

. SPI & BIAS 0

6 ILOx6 ( LO OUT2 interface Buffer fC=10.8 ÷ 14.5 GHz LO fLO_OUT2=10.14 ÷ 14.5 GHz Buffer Buffer LO & SYNT LO in fLO=12.8 ÷ 15.3 GHz Ext LO in fLO_IN=10.14 ÷ 14.5 GHz SPI controls

X-Band PLL fLO=9.75 ÷ 14.5 GHz LO

External TX DCO DPLL reference Buffer Oscil. (100 MHz)

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 10 - Developed test-board

• A test-board has been designed on TX LO IN 13.9 GHz RX LO IN 13.9 GHz 3.5 GHz OUT 13.9 GHz OUT Rogers substrate. It allows to measure TX RX X-band each test-chip on die and on waveguide. PLL

50 50 49 49 48 48 44 44 46 46 42 42 50 pin 40 40 14GHz 39 39 SE/DIFF 38 38 37 37 38 38 36 36 37 37 45 and 47 Out+ Out+ 36 36 • Out- Out- Out+ Out+ Out- In detail, it will be possible to fully 0/180° up 35 35 Out- Balun 34 34 Balun Balun 35 35 Balun 33 34 41 PA 33 33 connector 32 32 31 31 32 2 31 1 PA to 3GHz 50 49 48 47 0/180° @ 3.5GHz 46 45 characterize: GND 44 43 42 41 Balun 40 39 Balun

I 0/180° @ 14GHz 38 37 Q

36 35

F 34 33 F I 32 31 I WG 30 29 38 28 27 37 36 30 30 35 X-band GND 29 29 34 26 25 33 28 28 32 12 31 • 27 27 GND 24 23 GND die-to-waveguide E-band transition 35 16 26 26 13 14 GND 22 21 15 14 16

I 18 WR12 GND 20 19 19 Q 21 18 17 GND 6 PLL 9 3 6 5 8 7 1 1 1

F 16 15 F I 14 13 I 12 11 GND 10 9 GND 8 7 6 5 • GND 4 3 GND stand-alone E-band Low-Noise-Amplifier 0/90° up 2 1 11 TX SECTION RX SECTION 100 to 3GHz MHz XO • stand-alone E-band Power Amplifier Hibryd Hibryd • stand-alone mixers for up- and down-

conversion I I/Q Q I I/Q Q 0-3 GHz IF OUT 0-2 GHz IF OUT 100 MHz REF • stand-alone X-band PLL

13.9 GHz OUT 3.5 GHz OUT • stand-alone E-band X6 block RX LO IN 13.9 GHz • E-band down-converter (LNA-VGA+mixer TX LO IN 13.9 GHz +output buffers) with or without the X6 block on the local oscillator chain • E-band up-converter (PA-VGA+mixer+ WG WR12 RX SECTION output buffers) with or without the X6 TX SECTION block on the local oscillator chain 100 MHz REF Q I/Q Q I I/Q 0-2 GHz IF OUT • full E-band receiver I 0-3 GHz IF OUT • full E-band transmitter

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 11 - Developed test-board

• A test-board has been designed on TX LO IN 13.9 GHz RX LO IN 13.9 GHz 3.5 GHz OUT 13.9 GHz OUT Rogers substrate. It allows to measure TX RX X-band each test-chip on die and on waveguide. PLL

I 0/180° @ 14GHz 38 37 Q

36 35

F 34 33 F I 32 31 I WG 30 29 38 28 27 37 36 30 30 35 X-band GND 29 29 34 26 25 33 28 28 32 12 31 • 27 27 GND 24 23 GND die-to-waveguide E-band transition 35 16 26 26 13 14 GND 22 21 15 14 16

I 18 WR12 GND 20 19 19 Q 21 18 17 GND 6 PLL 9 3 6 5 8 7 1 1 1

F 16 15 F I 14 13 I 12 11 GND 10 9 GND 8 7 6 5 • GND 4 3 GND stand-alone E-band Low-Noise-Amplifier 0/90° up 2 1 11 to 3GHz TX SECTION RX SECTION 100 WR12 MHz XO • stand-alone E-band Power Amplifier Hibryd Hibryd • stand-alone mixers for up- and down-

conversion I I/Q Q I I/Q Q 0-3 GHz IF OUT 0-2 GHz IF OUT 100 MHz REF • stand-alone X-band PLL

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 12 - E-Band Transitions

• Two structures to validate the die-to-waveguide transitions have been designed. The first one in the 71-76 GHz frequency range and the second one in the 81-86 GHz frequency range

SiGe Bondings Preliminary Die Cap measurements VS Simulation results

Waveguide Simulations Substrate WR12

Rogers Alumina

Waveguide WR12 SiGe (IN) die Waveguide WR12 (OUT)

Back-to-back simulation results of 71-76 and 81-86 GHz die-to-waveguide transition

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 13 - E-band Receiver

Analog control [V]

Digital z

E-band Demodulator control* I+ H z G z

H 2 H G

Transition Q

1 I- G

& Mixer ÷ 7

+ N I ÷ I

8 0 -

BUFFER : 0 1 F ÷ VLNA T

= = R T T

- U

0 Q+ U U 7 O O O = f f

N : : I

f Q- A B I Q T U O

O 2 L I C ILOx6 0 / 90° ) Buffer z Optional H G 7

8 Digital Buffer ÷ 8 . 0 6 ( interface

LO in fLO=12.8 ÷ 15.3 GHz RX X-Band PLL External DCO DPLL reference Buffer Oscil. (100 MHz)

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 14 - E-band Receiver: LNA-VGA and Mixer

Analog control [V]

Digital z

E-band Demodulator control* I+ H z G z

H 2 H G

Transition Q

1 I- G

& Mixer ÷ 7

+ N I ÷ I

8 0 -

BUFFER : 0 1 F ÷ VLNA T

= = R T T

- U

0 Q+ U U 7 O O O = f f

N : : I

f Q- A B I Q T U O

O 2 L I C ILOx6 0 / 90° ) Buffer z Optional H G 7

8 Digital Buffer ÷ 8 . 0 6 ( interface

LO in fLO=12.8 ÷ 15.3 GHz RX X-Band PLL External DCO DPLL reference Buffer Oscil. (100 MHz)

x Buffer PoutI PIN 2-stage Input MN1 P =P transition LNA-VGA outI outQ

x Buffer PoutQ V_control

0/90° Phase shifter

POL = 1dBm

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 15 - E-band Receiver: LNA-VGA and Mixer

50 AC-coupling DC-coupling

x Buffer PoutI Input 2-stage PIN MN1 PoutI=PoutQ transition LNA-VGA ZN = 50  Zout = 100 diff

x Buffer PoutQ V_control

0/90° Differential interfaces LNA VGA Phase shifter

POL = 1dBm

MIXER

LNA-VGA LNA+VGA+ LNA+VGA+MIXER I/Q MIXER + 0/90°

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 16 - E-band RX Chain: Simulation results (1/2)

Analog control [V]

Digital z

E-band Demodulator control* I+ H z G z

H 2 H

G Simulation results: minimum attenuation

Transition Q

1 I- G

& Mixer ÷ 7

+ N I ÷ I

8 0 -

BUFFER : 0 1 F ÷ VLNA T

= = R T T

- U

0 Q+ U U 7 O O O = f f

N : : I

f Q- A B I Q T U O

O 2 L I C ILOx6 0 / 90° ) Buffer z Optional H G 7

8 Digital Buffer ÷ 8 . 0 6 ( interface

LO in fLO=12.8 ÷ 15.3 GHz

X-Band PLL

External RX DCO DPLL reference Buffer Oscil. (100 MHz)

LNA+VGA+MIXER

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 17 - E-band RX Chain: Simulation results (2/2)

Analog control [V]

Digital z

E-band Demodulator control* I+ H z G z

H Simulation results: maximum attenuation 2 H G

Transition Q

1 I- G

& Mixer ÷ 7

+ N I ÷ I

8 0 -

BUFFER : 0 1 F ÷ VLNA T

= = R T T

- U

0 Q+ U U 7 O O O = f f

N : : I

f Q- A B I Q T U O

O 2 L I C ILOx6 0 / 90° ) Buffer z Optional H G 7

8 Digital Buffer ÷ 8 . 0 6 ( interface

LO in fLO=12.8 ÷ 15.3 GHz

X-Band PLL

External RX DCO DPLL reference Buffer Oscil. (100 MHz)

LNA+VGA+MIXER

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 18 - E-band LNA-VGA: ST B55 VS ST B55X tech.

Comparison of RF performances between ST B55 and B55X technology: - Higher power gain and lower noise figure Simulation results Analog control [V] GAIN UniRM1 GAIN Digital z

E-band Demodulator control* I+ H z G z

H 2 H G

Transition Q

1 I- G

& Mixer ÷ 7

+ N I ÷ I

8 0 -

BUFFER : 9.1dB@86GHz 0 1 F ÷ VLNA T

= = R T T

- U

0 Q+ U U 7 O O O = f f

N : : I

f Q- 13.1dB@86GHz A B I Q T U O

O 2 L I C ILOx6 0 / 90° ) Buffer z Optional H G 7

8 Digital Buffer ÷ 8 . 0 6 ( interface

LO in fLO=12.8 ÷ 15.3 GHz UniCal ST B55 ST B55X RX X-Band PLL process process External DCO DPLNFL reference NF Buffer Oscil. (100 MHz) 8.1dB@80GHz 5.3dB@80GHz

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 19 - E-band phase shifter for TX end RX

Analog control [V]

Digital • An E-band single-ended and differential phase shifting z E-band Demodulator control* I+ H z G z

H 2 H G

Transition Q

1 I- G

& Mixer ÷ 7

+ N I ÷ I

8 blocks have been designed: 0 -

BUFFER : 0 1 F ÷ VLNA T

= = R T T

- U

0 Q+ U U 7 O O O = f f

N : : I

f Q- A B I Q T U O

O 2 L I C ILOx6 0 / 90° ) Buffer z Optional H G 7

8 Digital Buffer ÷ 8 . 0 6 ( interface

LO in fLO=12.8 ÷ 15.3 GHz

X-Band PLL

External RX DCO DPLL reference Buffer Oscil. (100 MHz)

 Simulated phases:  Die with single-ended version:

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 20 - E-band TRX: LO Chain – X-band Digital PLL

Analog control [V]

Digital z

E-band Demodulator control* I+ H z G z

H 2 H G

Transition Q

DPLL Output freq. 13.4 GHz 1 I- G

& Mixer ÷ 7

+ N I ÷ I

8 0 -

BUFFER : 0 1 F ÷ VLNA T

Ref. freq. = = R T T

- U

0 Q+ U U 7 O O O = f f

N : : I

f Q- A B I Q T U O

O 2 L I C 100 MHz 80.4 ILOx6 0 / 90° ) Buffer z Optional H G 7

8 Digital Buffer ÷ 8 . 0 6 GHz ( interface

Multipliers LO in fLO=12.8 ÷ 15.3 GHz

Output freq. X-Band PLL

External RX DCO DPLL reference Buffer Oscil. (100 MHz)

Simulation results Two-Step Synthesis : • 13.9 GHz Digital PLL; • Dual Core I/Q VCO to achieve lower out of band noise; • I/Q phases exploited for DTC range reduction; • Subsampling architecture to reduce power consumption;

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 21 - E-band TRX: LO Chain – X6 Frequency Multiplier

Analog control [V]

Digital z

E-band Demodulator control* I+ H z G z

H 2 H G

Transition Q

DPLL Output freq. 13.4 GHz 1 I- G

& Mixer ÷ 7

+ N I ÷ I

8 0 -

BUFFER : 0 1 F ÷ VLNA T

Ref. freq. = = R T T

- U

0 Q+ U U 7 O O O = f f

N : : I

f Q- A B I Q T U O

O 2 L I C 100 MHz 80.4 ILOx6 0 / 90° ) Buffer z Optional H G 7

8 Digital Buffer ÷ 8 . 0 6 GHz ( interface

Multipliers LO in fLO=12.8 ÷ 15.3 GHz

Output freq. X-Band PLL

External RX DCO DPLL reference Buffer Oscil. (100 MHz) X6 Frequency Multiplier: • Two steps LO synthesis to exploit higher Simulation results

passives quality factor at lower

frequencies; ] dBm

band

Upper E Upper Output power [ power Output

Frequency [GHz]

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 22 - X6 frequency multiplier: ST B55 VS ST B55X tech.

 Substituting transistors of ST B55 process with new ones two observations can be made: . High-speed HBT of ST B55X process exhibits lower parasitic capacitance which explains the bandwidth shift; . High-speed HBT of ST B55X process exhibits higher gains at higher frequencies due to the increase of the cut off frequency; Simulation results

CMOS Bipolar (ST B55) Wirebond X3 X2 Buff

CMOS Bipolar (NEW ST B55X) Wirebond X3 X2 Buff

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 23 - E-band Transmitter

Analog control [V] Detector 1 Detector 2

E-band Modulator E-band PA I+ O z p Transition H t I G N A I- Mixer T 7 : :

U 8 0 I

& ÷

PA O ÷

Q+ F Q 0

G R 7 H I = F z Q- R f Q T U O

O 2 L I C ILOx6 0 / 90° ) Buffer z Optional H G 7

8 Digital Buffer ÷ 8 . 0 6 ( interface

LO in fLO=12.8 ÷ 15.3 GHz X-Band PLL TX External DCO DPLL reference Buffer Oscil. (100 MHz)

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 24 - E-band Transmitter

Analog control [V] Detector 1 Detector 2

E-band Modulator E-band PA I+ TRE1B MORE-TX O z p Transition H t I G N A I- Mixer T 7 : :

U 8 0 I

& ÷

PA O ÷

Q+ F Q 0

G R 7 H I = F z Q- R f Q T U O

O 2 L I C ILOx6 0 / 90° ) Buffer z Optional H G 7

8 Digital Buffer ÷ 8 . 0 6 ( interface

LO in fLO=12.8 ÷ 15.3 GHz

X-Band PLL

External DCO DPLL reference TX Buffer Oscil. (100 MHz) LALL1A

E-band PA design:  TRE1B (2.5x2.0mm)  single-ended E-band PA and detector, with sub-blocks and test structures; Post-layout simulation results of conversion gain of the up-  LALL1A (1.0x1.8mm)  differential E-band PA; converter mixer co-integrated with  MORE-TX (1.3x1.6mm)  E-band up-converter, differential PA, with 2 GHz IF (input power of -20 dBm) and fLO including a Gilbert-cell mixer co-integrated with swept from 78 to 92 GHz differential PA.

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 25 - E-band Transmitter: Power Amplifier characterization

ST B55 E-band PA – Preliminary measurement results

DC power consumption is 1.8 W

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 26 - E-band Transmitter: Power Amplifier + Transition

Bondings Microstrip Patches • PA performance when the die-to- lines Cap waveguide transition (71-76GHz band) has been added at PA output Die • Re-design will consider the mixer E-band PA Substrate output impedance to improve PA WR12 Aluminium board Vias input matching Output ST B55 E-band PA + Output transition – Preliminary measurement results

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 27 - E-band Transmitter: Differential Power Amplifier

E-band Differential PA in 55-nm SiGe ST B55 E-band PA – Simulation results BiCMOS (Post-layout circuit co-simulations) • PA achieves a saturated power (Psat) of +24.1 dBm • RF Gain = 25.8 dB @ 86GHz • Peak PAE = 12.3 % • Output 1-dB compression point >18 dBm • DC power consumption = 2.4 W

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 28 - D-band ext. module

Analog control [V] Detector 1 Detector 2 D-band section Detector 2

E-band Modulator E-band PA D-band Up-converter I+ O p Transition t I Mixer N A I- Mixer : :

0 I RF OUT

& ÷ PA PA 3 Q+ fRF=130 ÷ 174 GHz Q

G z H I H z Q- WR6 G

Q 7 8

T 0 U 7 O =

O 2 R L I C f ILOx6 0 / 90° x6 ) Buffer z Optional H G 7

8 Digital Buffer ÷ 8 . 0 6 ( interface

LO in fLO=12.8 ÷ 15.3 GHz

X-Band PLL fLO=9.75 ÷ 14.5 GHz LO

External TX DCO DPLL reference Buffer Oscil. (100 MHz)

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 29 - D-band amplifiers (1/2)

 BiCMOS55nm test-chip with D-band amplifiers  From measurements:  Overall performance is aligned with simulation results  Good quality PDK models, design tools and verification flow  ~20dB gain achieved over D-band, meet requirement of the D-band down-conversion module 20 Measurements VS25 Simulations 15 20

15 10

10 5

5 0 0 -5

-5

Parameter [dB] Parameter

Parameter [dB] Parameter -

-10 - S S -10

-15 S21 Simulation -15 S21 Simulation S21 Measurement S21 Measurement -20 S11 Simulation -20 S11 Simulation S11 Measurement S11 Measurement -25 S22 Simulation -25 S22 Simulation S22 Measurement S22 Measurement -30 -30 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 Frequency [GHz] Frequency [GHz]

20 25

20 15

15 10 10 5 5

0 0

-5 -5 Parameter [dB] Parameter

Parameter [dB] Parameter -10 -

- -10

S S -15 -15 S21 Simulation S21 Simulation -20 S21 Measurement S21 Measurement -20 S11 Simulation S11 Simulation -25 S11 Measurement S11 Measurement -25 S22 Simulation -30 S22 Simulation S22 Measurement S22 Measurement -30 -35 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 Frequency [GHz] Frequency [GHz]

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 30 - D-band amplifiers (2/2)

 Silicon D-band PA’s in literature hardly exceed 8dBm output power and PAE 5%  For next tape-out (Q4-2019) different PA versions (4 planned now) will be delivered with the following target: >17dBm OP1dB with PAE >10% at 150GHz  Designs in BiCMOS55nm and BiCMOS55X will be fabricated for experimental performance comparison. Simulation results

BiCMOS55X

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 31 - Conclusions (1/2)

• The advent of 5G mobile services comes with a huge amount of traffic data which can saturate existing networks. Radio spectrum up to 42 GHz will become congested since, also with very complex modulation schemes (i.e. 4096-QAM), the maximum throughput is close to 1Gbps; • Today the best frequency band to cover this demand for increased bandwidth and spectrum for mobile services is the E-band (71–76 and 81–86GHz band); • E-band radio-based equipment become a suitable solution for several reasons: • the high capacity that can be reached (with 10 GHz of spectrum available) • the possibility to have very large channel bandwidths (up to 2 GHz) • the links are often licensed under a "light license" process so that the licenses can be obtained quickly and cheaply by providing, at a fraction of the cost, the full benefits of traditional link licenses; • In order to guarantee a future massive deployment, it is necessary to reduce the costs and increase the performance. Silicon-Germanium BiCMOS technologies will be a breakthrough in the system concept enabling a mixed signal design including mmWave, base band and digital functionalities based on the same process and embedded into a single chip;

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 32 - Conclusions (2/2)

• One of the TASK of the European TARANTO project has the following goals: • design, in SiGe BiCMOS technology (ST B55 and B55X), the building blocks for a complete E-band (with D-band ext. module) radio transceiver front-end • integrate them in a module as a proof of concept: “Advanced multi-GigaBit” E-band radio transceiver front-end for mm-wave back-hauling application; • The Building blocks for the E-band transmitter and receiver has been presented and some preliminary measurements and simulation results have been shown; • A D-band extension module has been designed since in the coming years the fixed wireless broadband services will be pushed towards higher frequency bands extending the “spectrum frontier” further beyond 90 GHz to get additional spectrum to cope with the capacity needs. D-band (110-170 GHz) can cover this demand: • Some D-band amplifiers have been designed and measured to validate the ST B55 technology and to lay the foundations for a D-band Power Amplifier that will be designed both in ST BiCMOS55 and ST BiCMOS55X technologies.

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 33 - Thank you

The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Commission's ECSEL Joint Undertaking under grant agreement n° 737454 - project TARANTO - and the respective Public Authorities of France, Austria, Germany, Greece, Italy and Belgium. https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/210525/factsheet/en

WS-01 - Recent advances in SiGe BiCMOS: technologies, modelling and circuits for 5G, radar and imaging - 34 -