Mm-wave Silicon Technology : 60 Ghz and Beyond

Seven years ago research in the ?eld of mm-wave silicon was virtually non-existent. Fewpeoplethoughtthatoperationat60GHzwasevenfeasibleinsilicontechnology. Inthecourseofsevenyearsthe topichastransitionedfromanobscureresearchtopic to an exciting buzzword (60GHz) that has generated much interest from industry and the venture community.To put things in historical perspective, seven years ago most commercial efforts were focused on the 1-10 GHz spectrum for voice and data applications for mobile phones and portable computers. Many people were actively seeking solutions to the “last mile” problem, or a way to deliver high speed data to users in their homes and of?ces throughcable, telephone, or wireless infrastructure. At the same time, the explosive growth of wireless data such as WiFi spurred s- ni?cant research into and development of new architectures for radio transceivers that could deliver very high data rates over short ranges, particularly for video and personal area networks. Thisproblem can be viewed as the “last meter” or even the “last inch” connection that delivers high bandwidth multimedia content to devices. The growth of MP3 media devices, and now handheld video devices, and the rapid adoptionofHDTV and ?at screentelevisions hascreateda healthydemandforte- nology that enables high speed wireless video transmission. For this reason, today we witness a very active interest in mm-wave silicon technology. Other important commercial applications include automotive radar for safety and improved driving experience. But these applications are only the tip of the iceberg.

mm-Wave Silicon Technology: 60GHz and Beyond covers silicon-based millimeter wave circuits and systems. It provides in depth coverage of advanced silicon processing technologies including CMOS and SiGe as well as modeling of active and passive devices on silicon at millimeter waves. It also provides coverage of mm-wave circuit building blocks such as low noise amplifiers, mixers, voltage controlled oscillators, frequency dividers, and power amplifiers that are suitable for integration in silicon. The book contains information on highly integrated mm-wave transceiver architectures with several silicon-based case studies. The book also includes advanced topics such as antenna arrays and beam-forming on silicon.

The book begins by presenting the fundamental technology scaling and device-level changes that have allowed mm-wave silicon performance. It then covers critical front-end mm-wave building blocks that achieve high gain, low noise, high power, and good dynamic range in low voltage silicon technology. The book culminates in the discussion of phased-array systems capable of beam forming and exploiting spatial diversity for increased throughput or range.

mm-Wave Silicon Technology: 60GHz and Beyond is written for practicing RF and analog circuit designers who are interested in this growing field. The chapters are self-contained and include short tutorials on important concepts before delving into details.