A review of key development areas in low-cost packaging and integration of future E-band mm-wave transceivers
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paper_title: Study on high rate long range wireless communications in the 71–76 and 81–86 GHz bands

paper_content:

Performance of high data rate wireless line-of-sight communications in the E-band is analysed using an example of the spectrally efficient multi-gigabit system reported earlier. This paper discussed available technologies, potentials of a further increase of the communication range and challenges in development of the future multi-gigabit wireless networks.
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paper_title: A comparison of basic 94 GHz planar transmission line resonators in commercial BiCMOS back-end-of-line processes

paper_content:

Paper presented at the 2014 International Conference on Actual Problems of Electron Devices Engineering (APEDE), 25-26 Sept. 2014, Saratov.
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paper_title: Energy harvesting for Wireless Sensors from electromagnetic fields around overhead power lines

paper_content:

In this paper, capacitive and inductive energy harvesting devices are proposed to extract energy from the electric and magnetic fields surrounding 132kV overhead transmission lines. Research has been done to determine what parameters affect these energy harvesters. In-lab testing has been done on both the inductive and capacitive energy harvesters and results look promising. A single IC solution for 3.3V voltage regulation and energy storage was also tested.
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paper_title: A proposed communications infrastructure for the smart grid

paper_content:

This paper explores and fortifies the need for a robust communications infrastructure for the upcoming smart grid and computes the bandwidth requirement for a hypothetical grid infrastructure. It presents the architecture of the current distribution system and shows that even for a medium-sized grid, the latency requirements of messages on the smart grid will require optical fibers as the transmission medium.
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paper_title: Viability of powerline communication for the smart grid

paper_content:

There is currently an ongoing debate surrounding what would be the best choice for smart grid communication technology. One of the promising communication technologies for smart grid realization is Powerline Communication (PLC). However, because of its noisy environment and the low capacity of Narrowband Powerline Communication, its viability for smart grid realization is being questioned. To investigate this issue, we studied smart grid communication network requirements. We categorize smart grid data traffic into two general traffic classes including home area network data traffic and distribution automation data traffic. Then using network simulator-2, we simulate powerline communication and a smart grid communication network. To have a better understanding of the viability of powerline communication for smart grid realization, some future smart grid advanced applications are considered. Latency and reliability are considered to be the main smart grid communication network requirements. In this paper, the delay of different traffic classes under different network infrastructures and traffic applications have been calculated. Furthermore, a viable powerline communication network infrastructure for smart grid communication network is proposed.
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paper_title: Space and frequency multiplexing for MM-wave multi-gigabit point-to-point transmission links

paper_content:

During last 10 years, the use of frequencies at E-band from 71 GHz to 76 GHz, from 81 GHz to 86 GHz and from 92 GHz to 95 GHz to licensed users has been regulated in US, Europe, Australia and Japan. Due to the large amount of available bandwidth and reasonable atmospheric attenuation, these frequency bands are suitable for very high data rate radio communication for medium to long range wireless links. However, in order to convert the bandwidth availability into real capacity, suitable transmission techniques should be designed. In the present paper, we propose a space-frequency multiplexing technique using FDM, coded modulation and 4×4 MIMO spatial multiplexing for point-to-point multi-gigabit connection in the 81–86 GHz bandwidth. We tested the proposed system, considering different link distances, different values of pathloss and atmospheric and rain attenuations. Simulation results evidenced the possibility of achieving a 48 Gb/s net capacity over 5GHz bandwidth (spectral efficiency 9.6 b/s/Hz) with 99.98% availability at link distances up to 1 Km.
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paper_title: Wireless Network Design for Transmission Line Monitoring in Smart Grid

paper_content:

In this paper, we develop a real-time situational awareness framework for the electrical transmission power grid using Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). While WSNs are capable of cost efficient monitoring over vast geographical areas, several technical challenges exist. The low power, low data rate devices cause bandwidth and latency bottlenecks. In this paper, our objective is to design a wireless network capable of real-time delivery of physical measurements for ideal preventive or corrective control action. For network design, we formulate an optimization problem with the objective of minimizing the installation and operational costs while satisfying the end-to-end latency and bandwidth constraints of the data flows. We study a hybrid hierarchical network architecture composed of a combination of wired, wireless and cellular technologies that can guarantee low cost real-time data monitoring. We formulate a placement problem to find the optimal location of cellular enabled transmission towers. Further, we present evaluation results of the optimization solution for diverse scenarios. Our formulation is generic and addresses real world scenarios with asymmetric sensor data generation, unreliable wireless link behavior, non-uniform cellular coverage, etc. Our analysis shows that a transmission line monitoring framework using WSN is indeed feasible using available technologies. Our results show that wireless link bandwidth can be a limiting factor for cost optimization.
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paper_title: Smart Grid Technologies: Communication Technologies and Standards

paper_content:

For 100 years, there has been no change in the basic structure of the electrical power grid. Experiences have shown that the hierarchical, centrally controlled grid of the 20th Century is ill-suited to the needs of the 21st Century. To address the challenges of the existing power grid, the new concept of smart grid has emerged. The smart grid can be considered as a modern electric power grid infrastructure for enhanced efficiency and reliability through automated control, high-power converters, modern communications infrastructure, sensing and metering technologies, and modern energy management techniques based on the optimization of demand, energy and network availability, and so on. While current power systems are based on a solid information and communication infrastructure, the new smart grid needs a different and much more complex one, as its dimension is much larger. This paper addresses critical issues on smart grid technologies primarily in terms of information and communication technology (ICT) issues and opportunities. The main objective of this paper is to provide a contemporary look at the current state of the art in smart grid communications as well as to discuss the still-open research issues in this field. It is expected that this paper will provide a better understanding of the technologies, potential advantages and research challenges of the smart grid and provoke interest among the research community to further explore this promising research area.
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paper_title: Expanding wireless bandwidth in a power-efficient way: developing a viable mm-wave radio technology

paper_content:

In recent years, demand for wireless bandwidth has been growing rapidly; a recent study has predicted that by 2015, demand will increase to twenty-six times that of today. However, the ability of wireless networks to handle even contemporary traffic is becoming problematic, with network overloading becoming a growing and widening problem; if data traffic increases by even a fraction of projections, wireless networks (as presently constructed) will be completely unable to cope with demand. This paper examines the current state of mm-wave radio technology for addressing this bandwidth/power-consumption crisis. The main promise of mm-wave radio is a route to power-efficient bandwidth - the ability to greatly increase the available data rates without increasing power consumption. To deliver successful mm-wave radio technology for general use, a number of multifaceted challenges will need to be addressed; these range from basic integrated circuit design to network design and network management.
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paper_title: Millimeter Wave Mobile Communications for 5G Cellular: It Will Work!

paper_content:

The global bandwidth shortage facing wireless carriers has motivated the exploration of the underutilized millimeter wave (mm-wave) frequency spectrum for future broadband cellular communication networks. There is, however, little knowledge about cellular mm-wave propagation in densely populated indoor and outdoor environments. Obtaining this information is vital for the design and operation of future fifth generation cellular networks that use the mm-wave spectrum. In this paper, we present the motivation for new mm-wave cellular systems, methodology, and hardware for measurements and offer a variety of measurement results that show 28 and 38 GHz frequencies can be used when employing steerable directional antennas at base stations and mobile devices.
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paper_title: ICT Barriers and Critical Success Factors in Developing Countries

paper_content:

Since the early 1990s, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been perceived as a catalyst for development. However, the UNICEF State of the World’s Children Report 2011 acknowledges that the poor in many developing countries remain largely excluded from ICT and its benefits. This paper aims to address three issues. Firstly, identify ICT barriers in the literature from 2000 to 2011. Secondly, identify ICT barriers through empirical findings and thirdly, categorize these barriers into critical success factors. These aims are achieved by comparing the findings in the literature to our recent empirical results. Two methodologies are used in this study, namely, a systematic literature review and a case study; the empirical data for our case study was collected from The Gambia in autumn of 2012. The systematic literature review covers 1107 studies (2000-2011) published in the top five ranked ICT4D journals in terms of journal citation ranking. The paper identifies a total of 43 ICT barriers. Forty of them are common to both studies while the remaining three were revealed in the case study, namely, lack of Internet exchange points, micromanaging and invisible hands. The barriers in both studies are grouped into eight possible critical success factors and their degrees of severity are then compared. This paper argues that lack of Internet exchange points is an important ICT barrier that is overlooked in our review pool.
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paper_title: A Survey on Smart Grid Communication Infrastructures: Motivations, Requirements and Challenges

paper_content:

A communication infrastructure is an essential part to the success of the emerging smart grid. A scalable and pervasive communication infrastructure is crucial in both construction and operation of a smart grid. In this paper, we present the background and motivation of communication infrastructures in smart grid systems. We also summarize major requirements that smart grid communications must meet. From the experience of several industrial trials on smart grid with communication infrastructures, we expect that the traditional carbon fuel based power plants can cooperate with emerging distributed renewable energy such as wind, solar, etc, to reduce the carbon fuel consumption and consequent green house gas such as carbon dioxide emission. The consumers can minimize their expense on energy by adjusting their intelligent home appliance operations to avoid the peak hours and utilize the renewable energy instead. We further explore the challenges for a communication infrastructure as the part of a complex smart grid system. Since a smart grid system might have over millions of consumers and devices, the demand of its reliability and security is extremely critical. Through a communication infrastructure, a smart grid can improve power reliability and quality to eliminate electricity blackout. Security is a challenging issue since the on-going smart grid systems facing increasing vulnerabilities as more and more automation, remote monitoring/controlling and supervision entities are interconnected.
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paper_title: Millimeter-wave measurement of complex permittivity using dielectric rod resonator excited by NRD-guide

paper_content:

A new method for measuring complex permittivity of low-loss dielectric materials at millimeter-wave frequencies has been developed. The method uses a dielectric rod resonator excited by a nonradiative dielectric waveguide. Effective conductivity of conducting plates for short circuiting the resonator is determined by the difference of unloaded Q factors between TE/sub 0m1/- and TE/sub 0m/spl delta//-mode resonators, made of the same low-loss dielectric material. The complex permittivity of the dielectric rod is determined by the resonant frequency (f/sub 0/) and unloaded Q factor (Q/sub u/) of the TE/sub 0m1/-mode resonator. The complex permittivities of single crystal sapphire, polycrystalline Ba(Mg/sub 1/2/W/sub 1/2/)O/sub 3/ and Mg/sub 2/Al/sub 4/Si/sub 5/O/sub 18/ (cordierite) have been obtained at 60 and 77 GHz by the new method. These results were consistent with the values measured at microwave frequencies. It was also found that the frequency dependence of the dielectric loss tangent (tan/spl delta/) for sapphire can be expressed by frequency/tan/spl delta/=1/spl times/10/sup 6/ GHz.
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paper_title: GaAs E Band Radio Chip-Set

paper_content:

A GaAs pHEMT radio chip-set, consisting of receiver, up-converter and power amplifier, for E-band applications demonstrates excellent conversion gain, linearity and output power over the entire 15 GHz bandwidth of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) E-band specification. The receiver's measured gain is 12 dB with an image rejection exceeding 10 dB, an IIP2 of 17 dBm and IIP3 of 5 dBm. For the up-converter, the measured conversion gain exceeds 10 dB and the OIP3 is approximately 26 dBm. The power amplifier has an average measured output power of 25.4 dBm and exceeds 24.5 dBm over the band. This amplifier has a measured small signal gain of 20 dB, OIP3 of approximately 32 dBm and the input and output return losses exceed 15 dB. The saturated output exceeds previous results for a power amplifier spanning the full 71 to 86 GHz span of the ETSI E bands for any semiconductor system. To the authors' knowledge this is the highest performance E-band full chipset solution realized in a commercially available GaAs foundry.
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paper_title: Low-cost E-band receiver front-end development for gigabyte point-to-point wireless communications

paper_content:

This paper presents an attractive low cost E-band (81-86 GHz) receiver front-end system with a broad bandwidth (up to 5 GHz) based on substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technology. The proposed subsystem is designed for gigabyte point-to-point wireless communication system. Active components are surface-mounted on alumina substrate utilizing miniature hybrid microwave-integrated circuit (MHMIC) technology. To increase gain and bandwidth of the antenna, and also to reduce fabrication cost, antenna and passive components are designed and fabricated on a low cost Rogers 6002 substrate with low dielectric constant. To fabricate the passive components, low cost printed circuit board (PCB) process is used. Then, the two substrates are integrated together by simple wire bonding process. With this design and implementation technique, our E-band front-end receiver subsystem can demonstrate attractive advantages and features such as broad bandwidth, low cost, compact size, light weight, and repayable performance. The minimum detectable power density at the receiver point is 0.41 μW/cm2 and the dynamic range is 72 dB.
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paper_title: An E-band transceiver with 5GHz IF bandwidth

paper_content:

This paper reports design and test results of a wideband low-complexity RF transceiver for full duplex multi-gigabit communication systems operating in 71–76 and 81–86 GHz frequency bands based on high-performance integrated multi-chip frequency conversion modules that use commercial GaAs MMICs.
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paper_title: Passives partitioning for single package single chip SoC on 32nm RFCMOS technology

paper_content:

Using a multilayer organic package substrate, we demonstrate that future system-on-chip with co-existing digital and radio integrated circuits can be partitioned to have critical RF inductors/transformers on package and active devices and capacitors on silicon, which enables cost and form factor reduction as well as design of radios on low resistivity substrate. As proof of concept, we present an example of silicon/package co-design, where a WLAN bandpass filter has been designed using 3D inductors on-package and multi-finger-capacitors on a 32nm silicon process. The design is validated both experimentally and through full wave electromagnetic simulation.
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paper_title: MMIC-based chipset for multi-Gigabit satellite links in E-band

paper_content:

A complete MMIC-based chipset for multi-Gigabit satellite communication links in the designated E-Band frequency ranges is shown. The chipset includes broadband I/Q up- and downconverter, a frequency multiplier for LO generation, a low noise amplifier with a noise figure below 2 dB integrated within the receiver chip as well as a power amplifier with a saturated output power above 22 dBm. A link budget analysis indicates the feasibility a LEO satellite downlink with the presented fully integrated solid-state chipset with data rates up to 5 Gbit/s.
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paper_title: Passive Circuit Technologies for mm-Wave Wireless Systems on Silicon

paper_content:

The performance characteristics of transmission lines, silicon integrated waveguides, tunable LC resonators and passive combiners/splitters and baluns are described in this paper. It is shown that Q-factor for an on-chip LC tank peaks between 20 and 40 GHz in a 65 nm RF-CMOS technology; well below the bands proposed for many mm-wave applications. Simulations also predict that the Q-factor of differential CPW transmission lines on-chip can exceed 20 at 60 GHz in RF-CMOS when a floating shield is applied, outperforming unshielded variants employing more advanced metal stacks. A PA circuit demonstrator for advanced on-chip passive power combiners, splitters and baluns realizes peak-PAE of 18% and Psat better than 20 dBm into a 50 Ω load at 62 GHz. An outlook to the enablement of digitally intensive mm-wave ICs and low-loss passive interconnections (0.15 dB/mm measured loss at 100 GHz) concludes the paper.
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paper_title: Microwave, millimiter and submillimeter devices, instrumentation and equipment

paper_content:

We design and manufacture noise measurement systems for high sensitivity measuring of amplitude and phase noise of components of radar and communication systems (oscillators, local oscillators, amplifiers, mixers) at frequency range from 1 to 180 GHz. For this purpose we have worked out a set of microwave components (coaxial, microstrip, waveguide) in this frequency range: resonators, detectors, mixers, local oscillators, attenuators, phase shifters, directional couplers, switches, matched load and others. The main advantages of these components are wide frequency range, small level of losses, low noise level of oscillators, very high Q-factor of resonators. Except to outlined microwave components we may propose microwave measurement system for: measuring of phase and amplitude noise of microwave signals, measuring of constitutive parameters of various materials in cm- and mm-wave range (1...180 GHz) as submm-wave range (180-405 GHz).
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paper_title: An E-band transmitter module constructed with four WLCSP MMICs solder-reflowed On PCB

paper_content:

The first edition of E-band transmitter module is demonstrated. This module is consisted of four WLCSP MMICs solder-reflowed on a designated PCB 14 mm × 10 mm in size. Because the WLCSP technology is incorporated, the module is mass producible and potentially very low cost compared with the current E-band products. The treatment of WLCSP MMIC in the E-band should be carefully done so as to suppress undesired bulk mode, an electro-magnetic absorber stables the performance. To demonstrate a TX module, we newly designed an LNA as driver amplifier and a PA, which are cascade combined with tripler and up-converter WLCSP MMICs on PCB. The LNA and PA have variable gain function modified of topology from the dual-HEMT amplifier. The conversion gain of TX module is 19dB and the saturated RF output power level is 17.5dBm.
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paper_title: Low insertion loss substrate integrated waveguide quasi-elliptic filters for V-band wireless personal area network applications

paper_content:

Novel V-band substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) filters have been presented. Design procedures for the filters synthesis and mechanisms providing quasi-elliptic response have been explained. The insertion loss of the filters has been measured below 2 dB with microstrip-to-SIW transitions being included.
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paper_title: High-Performance Shielded Coplanar Waveguides for the Design of CMOS 60-GHz Bandpass Filters

paper_content:

This paper presents optimized very high performance CMOS slow-wave shielded CPW transmission lines (S-CPW TLines). They are used to realize a 60-GHz bandpass filter, with T-junctions and open stubs. Owing to a strong slow-wave effect, the longitudinal length of the S-CPW is reduced by a factor up to 2.6 compared to a classical microstrip topology in the same technology. Moreover, the quality factor of the realized S-CPWs reaches 43 at 60 GHz, which is about two times higher than the microstrip one and corresponds to the state of the art concerning S-CPW TLines with moderate width. For a proof of concept of complex passive device realization, two millimeter-wave filters working at 60 GHz based on dual-behavior-resonator filters have been designed with these S-CPWs and measured up to 110 GHz. The measured insertion loss for the first-order (respectively, second-order) filter is -2.6 dB (respectively, -4.1 dB). The comparison with a classical microstrip topology and the state-of-the-art CMOS filter results highlights the very good performance of the realized filters in terms of unloaded quality factor. It also shows the potential of S-CPW TLines for the design of high-performance complex CMOS passive devices.
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paper_title: A Millimeter-Wave System-on-Package Technology Using a Thin-Film Substrate With a Flip-Chip Interconnection

paper_content:

In this paper, a system-on-package (SOP) technology using a thin-film substrate with a flip-chip interconnection has been developed for compact and high-performance millimeter-wave (mm-wave) modules. The thin-film substrate consists of Si-bumps, ground-bumps, and multilayer benzocyclobutene (BCB) films on a lossy silicon substrate. The lossy silicon substrate is not only a base plate of the thin-film substrate, but also suppresses the parasitic substrate mode excited in the thin-film substrate. Suppression of the substrate mode was verified with measurement results. The multilayer BCB films and the ground-bumps provide the thin-film substrate with high-performance integrated passives for the SOP capability. A broadband port terminator and a V-band broad-side coupler based on thin-film microstrip (TFMS) circuits were fabricated and characterized as mm-wave integrated passives. The Si-bumps dissipate the heat generated during the operation of flipped chips as well as provide mechanical support. The power dissipation capability of the Si-bumps was confirmed with an analysis of DC-IV characteristics of GaAs pseudomorphic high electron-mobility transistors (PHEMTs) and radio-frequency performances of a V-band power amplifier (PA). In addition, the flip-chip transition between a TFMS line on the thin-film substrate and a coplanar waveguide (CPW) line on a flipped chip was optimized with a compensation network, which consists of a high-impedance and low-impedance TFMS line and a removed ground technique. As an implementation example of the mm-wave SOP technology, a V-band power combining module (PCM) was developed on the thin-film substrate with the flip-chip interconnection. The V-band PCM incorporating two PAs with broadside couplers showed a combining efficiency higher than 78%.
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paper_title: Multilayer RF PCB for space applications: technological and interconnections trade-off

paper_content:

Multilayer RF printed circuits boards with embedded passives are complex structures to manufacture and to package while keeping good RF performances. In this paper, technological solutions aimed at simplifying these issues are proposed: the use of thermoset materials instead of thermoplastic laminates and an original interconnection technique based on "RF openings" machined in the edges of the boards. Two breadboards based on these solutions have been developed and demonstrate very good RF performances between 5 and 15 GHz.
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paper_title: A low-cost 24GHz Doppler radar sensor for traffic monitoring implemented in standard discrete-component technology

paper_content:

This paper deals with both the implementation and the real-life characterization of a low-cost 24 GHz Doppler radar sensor, purposely designed for the traffic monitoring. To reduce industrial costs as much as possible a discrete-components technology has been adopted for the microwave front-end Plastic packaged devices and fiberglass reinforced substrate are used in such a way as to fit with standard PCB manufacturing processes and automated assembly procedures. The signal manipulation is based on a state-machine algorithm and has been implemented in a 8051 family micro-controller unit. The realized sensor has a typical output power of 6 dBm and mounts a planar antenna with a 3 dB beam-width of plusmn4.5 degrees. The real-life measured performances shows a detection range in excess of 300 meters.
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paper_title: A 60GHz LC-VCO module using flip-chip on a laminate substrate

paper_content:

For emerging mm-wave consumer applications such as high data-rate wireless communications at 60GHz and car radar at 76–81GHz, it is important to investigate the impact of module assembly on IC performance. Flip-chip is a promising candidate to meet requirements like low reflections, low insertion loss and low costs for mm-wave applications. This paper addresses the design, modeling and evaluation results of a 60GHz LC-VCO module using flip-chip. The impact of the substrate on on-chip CPW transmission lines and spiral inductors is studied based on the performance of a 60GHz LC-VCO. Since the inductor is part of the VCO resonator, a remarkable 10% increase in oscillation frequency occurs due to the nearby top-metal layer of the substrate. The IC is realized in a 0.25µm SiGe BiCMOS process. The 0.44mm thick substrate offers four copper signal layers.
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paper_title: A fully integrated SiGe E-BAND transceiver chipset for broadband point-to-point communication

paper_content:

Fully integrated chipset at E-band frequencies in a superhetrodyne architecture covering the lower 71–76GHz and upper 81–86GHz bands were designed and fabricated in 0.13%m SiGe technology. The receiver chips include an image-reject low-noise amplifier (LNA), RF-to-IF mixer, variable gain IF amplifier, quadrature IF-to-baseband de-modulators, tunable baseband filter, phase-locked loop (PLL), and frequency multiplier by four (quadrupler). The receiver chips achieve 60dB gain, 8.5 dB noise figure, −30 dBm IIP3, and consumes 600 mW. The transmitter chips include a power amplifier, image-reject driver, IF-to-RF up-converting mixer, variable gain IF amplifier, quadrature baseband-to-IF modulator, PLL, and frequency multiplier by four (quadrupler). It achieves output power P1dB of 0 to 11 dBm, Psat of 3.3 to 14 dBm, and consumes 850 mW.
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paper_title: A Ka-band transceiver front-end module for wide band wireless communication

paper_content:

In this paper, a Ka-band transceiver (T/R) front-end module for wide band and high speed wireless communication is presented. A new multilayer PCB structure is proposed. With this structure, entire millimeter wave system can be integrated on one board. The performance of the T/R front-end module is measured. In order to verify the feasibility of the T/R front-end module for practical wireless communication applications, a complete wireless communication system with two T/R front-end modules is designed and implemented. A 16QAM signal with a date rate of 20 Ms/s and a 512QAM signal with a date rate of 5 Ms/s are used to evaluate the system performance. Experimental results are satisfactory.
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paper_title: A hybrid fabricated 40 GHz low phase noise SiGe push-push oscillator

paper_content:

We present a 40 GHz push-push oscillator based on SiGe HBTs. The circuit is fabricated in thin film technology on an alumina substrate. It provides an output power of -9 dBm at 40 GHz and two differential outputs with -6 dBm each at the fundamental frequency of 20 GHz. The oscillator shows an excellent phase noise performance and reaches -108 dBc/Hz at the second harmonic frequency of 40 GHz and -114 dBc/Hz at the fundamental frequency of 20 GHz Both values are measured at an offset frequency of I MHz.
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paper_title: Oscillator phase noise: a tutorial

paper_content:

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 of oscillators is still linear, despite the existence of the nonlinearities necessary for amplitude stabilization. In addition to providing a quantitative reconciliation between theory and measurement, the time-varying phase noise model presented in this tutorial identifies the importance of symmetry in suppressing the upconversion of 1/f noise into close-in phase noise, and provides an explicit appreciation of cyclostationary effects and AM-PM conversion. These insights allow a reinterpretation of why the Colpitts oscillator exhibits good performance, and suggest new oscillator topologies. Tuned LC and ring oscillator circuit examples are presented to reinforce the theoretical considerations developed. Simulation issues and the accommodation of amplitude noise are considered in appendixes.
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paper_title: Passive Circuit Technologies for mm-Wave Wireless Systems on Silicon

paper_content:

The performance characteristics of transmission lines, silicon integrated waveguides, tunable LC resonators and passive combiners/splitters and baluns are described in this paper. It is shown that Q-factor for an on-chip LC tank peaks between 20 and 40 GHz in a 65 nm RF-CMOS technology; well below the bands proposed for many mm-wave applications. Simulations also predict that the Q-factor of differential CPW transmission lines on-chip can exceed 20 at 60 GHz in RF-CMOS when a floating shield is applied, outperforming unshielded variants employing more advanced metal stacks. A PA circuit demonstrator for advanced on-chip passive power combiners, splitters and baluns realizes peak-PAE of 18% and Psat better than 20 dBm into a 50 Ω load at 62 GHz. An outlook to the enablement of digitally intensive mm-wave ICs and low-loss passive interconnections (0.15 dB/mm measured loss at 100 GHz) concludes the paper.
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paper_title: Radiated emissions and immunity of microstrip transmission lines: theory and reverberation chamber measurements

paper_content:

The increasing complexity of electronic systems has introduced an increased potential for electromagnetic interference (EMI) between electronic systems. We analyze the radiation from a microstrip transmission line and calculate the total radiated power by numerical integration. Reverberation chamber methods for measuring radiated emissions and immunity are reviewed and applied to three microstrip configurations. Measurements from 200 to 2000 MHz are compared with theory, and excellent agreement is obtained for two configurations that minimize feed cable and finite ground plane effects. Emissions measurements are found to be more accurate than immunity measurements because the impedance mismatch of the receiving antenna cancels when the ratio of the microstrip and reference radiated power measurements is taken. The use of two different receiving antenna locations for emissions measurements illustrates good field uniformity within the chamber.
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paper_title: Packaging Effects of Multiple X-Band SiGe LNAs Embedded in an Organic LCP Substrate

paper_content:

Interconnects in radio frequency (RF) packages have a strong tendency to deteriorate RF performance, especially in high-frequency systems. In this paper, comparison is made between the wirebonded and embedded flip-chip packages. X-band silicon-germanium low-noise amplifiers are used to evaluate the performance of these interconnects. Measured results show that the embedded flip-chip packages have better RF performance than the wirebonded packages for X-band applications. At 9.5 GHz, the flip-chip interconnects contribute only 0.4 dB of insertion loss, while the wirebond interconnects contribute 2.2 dB of insertion loss. The flip-chip and wirebond interconnects are modeled and validated against measured results from 8 to 20 GHz. For the first time, multiple dies are put together in a single liquid crystal polymer package to compare the packaging effects, and to demonstrate the feasibility of embedding multiple dies within a single package for highly integrated solutions.
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paper_title: A Millimeter-Wave System-on-Package Technology Using a Thin-Film Substrate With a Flip-Chip Interconnection

paper_content:

In this paper, a system-on-package (SOP) technology using a thin-film substrate with a flip-chip interconnection has been developed for compact and high-performance millimeter-wave (mm-wave) modules. The thin-film substrate consists of Si-bumps, ground-bumps, and multilayer benzocyclobutene (BCB) films on a lossy silicon substrate. The lossy silicon substrate is not only a base plate of the thin-film substrate, but also suppresses the parasitic substrate mode excited in the thin-film substrate. Suppression of the substrate mode was verified with measurement results. The multilayer BCB films and the ground-bumps provide the thin-film substrate with high-performance integrated passives for the SOP capability. A broadband port terminator and a V-band broad-side coupler based on thin-film microstrip (TFMS) circuits were fabricated and characterized as mm-wave integrated passives. The Si-bumps dissipate the heat generated during the operation of flipped chips as well as provide mechanical support. The power dissipation capability of the Si-bumps was confirmed with an analysis of DC-IV characteristics of GaAs pseudomorphic high electron-mobility transistors (PHEMTs) and radio-frequency performances of a V-band power amplifier (PA). In addition, the flip-chip transition between a TFMS line on the thin-film substrate and a coplanar waveguide (CPW) line on a flipped chip was optimized with a compensation network, which consists of a high-impedance and low-impedance TFMS line and a removed ground technique. As an implementation example of the mm-wave SOP technology, a V-band power combining module (PCM) was developed on the thin-film substrate with the flip-chip interconnection. The V-band PCM incorporating two PAs with broadside couplers showed a combining efficiency higher than 78%.
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paper_title: A full E-band low noise amplifier realized by using novel wafer-level chip size package technology suitable for reliable flip-chip reflow-soldering

paper_content:

Cost effective E-band Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) using a three-dimensional (3-D) MMIC technology and wafer level chip size package (WLCSP) technology is presented. The reflow-soldering compatibility of the technology makes MMIC assembly on PCB very simple and significantly contributes to mass production of receivers and transmitters. The applied 3-D MMIC design effectively shrinks the die sizes. The newly designed LNA exhibited an on-chip gain of 22.5 ± 1 dB and a noise figure of 4.0 ± 0.3 dB in the full E-band. The measurements of the assembled LNA, including extended transmission lines on PCB, exhibited a gain of 21 ± 1 dB and a noise figure of 4.6 ± 0.2 dB. Eliminating the extended transmission line losses of about 0.3 dB × 2, the noise figure increase due to assembly was only 0.3 dB. These results show that the LNA using the 3-D WLCSP technology is valuable for E-band application in terms of not only cost reduction but also practical performance achievement.
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paper_title: A high gain E-band MMIC LNA in GaAs 0.1-µm pHEMT process for radio astronomy applications

paper_content:

In this paper, we present an E-band MMIC low noise amplifier (LNA) using 0.1-μm GaAs pHEMT technology operating in 1V and 2V drain voltage. The E-band LNA shows small signal gain of 28 dB from 62 to 77 GHz with DC power consumption 44 mW. Noise measurement conducts in the package shows average noise figure about 4.5 dB from 75 to 90 GHz. The figure-of-merit (FOM) is 212.5 (GHz/mW), which is highest compared with other LNAs using 0.1-μm GaAs pHEMT technology.
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paper_title: Design and performance of a 60-GHz multi-chip module receiver employing substrate integrated waveguides

paper_content:

The design, fabrication and performance of a 60-GHz multi-chip module receiver employing a substrate integrated waveguide filter and antenna are presented. The receiver is integrated onto a single multilayer substrate, fabricated using photoimageable thick-film technology. The module incorporates a GaAs monolithic microwave integrated circuit low-noise amplifier and downconverter, with lumped elements for intermediate frequency (IF) filtering embedded into the substrate. The chip cavities for mounting of the MMICs are photo-imaged as part of the standard process, giving precise dimensional control for short bond-wire lengths. The complete module including integrated antenna measures only 22.5 mm x 5.4 mm x 0.3 mm and works from 58 to 64 GHz.
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paper_title: Development of millimeter-wave passive components and system-in-packages by LTCC technology

paper_content:

This paper addresses the recent development of millimeter-wave passive components for radar and wireless communication applications by the low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology. Several new design ideas which fully utilize the LTCC multilayer features and the existence of multiple cavity modes in realizing some special performance are summarized, including multi-band filters with flexible band assignments, compact diplexers with single branch configurations, couplers and antennas design with filtering characteristics. Finally, two system-in-package application examples have been demonstrated in 60 GHz frontend phased array for dense wireless communications and micro-radar module for noncontact vital sign detection.
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paper_title: 94 GHz Substrate Integrated Monopulse Antenna Array

paper_content:

A planar W-band monopulse antenna array is designed based on the substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technology. The sum-difference comparator, 16-way divider and 32 × 32 slot array antenna are all integrated on a single dielectric substrate in the compact layout through the low-cost PCB process. Such a substrate integrated monopulse array is able to operate over 93 ~ 96 GHz with narrow-beam and high-gain. The maximal gain is measured to be 25.8 dBi, while the maximal null-depth is measured to be - 43.7 dB. This SIW monopulse antenna not only has advantages of low-cost, light, easy-fabrication, etc., but also has good performance validated by measurements. It presents an excellent candidate for W-band directional-finding systems.
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paper_title: Low-cost E-band receiver front-end development for gigabyte point-to-point wireless communications

paper_content:

This paper presents an attractive low cost E-band (81-86 GHz) receiver front-end system with a broad bandwidth (up to 5 GHz) based on substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technology. The proposed subsystem is designed for gigabyte point-to-point wireless communication system. Active components are surface-mounted on alumina substrate utilizing miniature hybrid microwave-integrated circuit (MHMIC) technology. To increase gain and bandwidth of the antenna, and also to reduce fabrication cost, antenna and passive components are designed and fabricated on a low cost Rogers 6002 substrate with low dielectric constant. To fabricate the passive components, low cost printed circuit board (PCB) process is used. Then, the two substrates are integrated together by simple wire bonding process. With this design and implementation technique, our E-band front-end receiver subsystem can demonstrate attractive advantages and features such as broad bandwidth, low cost, compact size, light weight, and repayable performance. The minimum detectable power density at the receiver point is 0.41 μW/cm2 and the dynamic range is 72 dB.
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paper_title: An L-band tapered-ridge SIW-to-CPW transition

paper_content:

A tapered ridge transition between coplanar waveguide and substrate-integrated waveguide is presented. The taper is implemented through staircase metallization across 10 layers of conventional RF substrate with sidewall expansion and upper cut-out using Vivaldi-type exponential tapers. Fractional bandwidth of 36% is achieved in the L-band, with insertion loss of 0.5 dB and return loss of 15 dB.
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paper_title: Low insertion loss substrate integrated waveguide quasi-elliptic filters for V-band wireless personal area network applications

paper_content:

Novel V-band substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) filters have been presented. Design procedures for the filters synthesis and mechanisms providing quasi-elliptic response have been explained. The insertion loss of the filters has been measured below 2 dB with microstrip-to-SIW transitions being included.
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paper_title: A Low Phase-Noise VCO Using an Electronically Tunable Substrate Integrated Waveguide Resonator

paper_content:

In this paper, an X -band low phase-noise voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) using a novel electronically tunable substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) resonator is proposed and developed for RF/microwave applications on the basis of the substrate integrated circuits concept. In this case, the resonant frequency of the SIW cavity resonator is tuned by different dc-biasing voltages applied over a varactor coupled to the cavity. Measured results show that the tuning range of the resonator is about 630 MHz with an unloaded Q U of 138. Subsequently, a novel reflection-type low phase noise VCO is developed by taking advantage of the proposed tunable resonator. Measured results demonstrate a frequency tuning range of 460 MHz and a phase noise of 88 dBc/Hz at a 100-kHz offset over all oscillation frequencies. The VCO is also able to deliver an output power from 6.5 to 10 dBm. This type of VCO is very suitable for low-cost microwave and millimeter-wave applications.
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paper_title: Investigation of substrate integrated waveguide in LTCC technology for mm-wave applications

paper_content:

This paper presents the electromagnetic modeling and design of substrate integrated waveguides (SIW) up to W band (75 – 110 GHz) for Low-Temperature Co-fired Ceramics (LTCC) technology. The commercial software package CST Microwave Studio was used to optimize a coplanar waveguide (CPW) to SIW transition. Two test structures with two CPW to SIW transitions were designed, fabricated and measured up to 110 GHz. The comparison between simulated and measured data for the test structures shows a good agreement. The effective permittivity was extracted from both simulated and measured data and show good agreement.
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paper_title: Low-Loss Integrated-Waveguide Passive Circuits Using Liquid-Crystal Polymer System-on-Package (SOP) Technology for Millimeter-Wave Applications

paper_content:

In this paper, we show a low-loss integrated waveguide (IWG), microstrip line-to-IWG transition, IWG bandpass filter (BPF), and system-on-package (SOP) using a liquid-crystal polymer (LCP) substrate, which can be used toward SOP technology for millimeter-wave applications. The proposed IWG can be used as a low-loss millimeter-wave transmission line on this substrate. The measured insertion loss of the IWG is -0.12 dB/mm and the measured insertion loss of two microstrip line-to-IWG transitions is -0.14 dB at 60 GHz. The evaluated IWG filter is demonstrated as the pre-select filter for RF front-end modules at the millimeter-wave band. The fabricated three-pole BPF at a center frequency of 61.1 GHz has specifications: a 3-dB bandwidth of approximately 13.4% (~8.4 GHz), an insertion loss of -1.8 dB at the center frequency of 61.1 GHz, and a rejection of >15 dB over the passband. The proposed IWG can also be used as a low-loss millimeter-wave feed-through transition and interconnection between the monolithic microwave integrated circuit and the module instead of the vertical via structure. In terms of a SOP on LCP for millimeter-wave applications, the top face of the IWG does not have any electromagnetic effects, and a package lid can be attached to provide a hermetic sealing. These low-loss IWG circuits on LCP can easily be used in many millimeter-wave packaging applications
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paper_title: X-Band Substrate Integrated Waveguide Amplifier

paper_content:

Design and realization of a compact X-band single-transistor amplifier with substrate integrated waveguide (SIW)-based input and output matching networks is presented. The overall size of the proposed SIW amplifier is only 1.5lambdag at the center frequency. Using a calibration technique, we extract the S-parameters of the fabricated amplifier with reference to its SIW ports. Measurements show that the amplifier features 10 dB of power gain with less than 2 dB of ripple and more than 10 dB of input and output return losses on the SIW ports in the entire frequency band. Due to an appropriate modeling of the constituent blocks of the amplifier, a good agreement between the simulation and measurement results is observed.
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paper_title: A Wire Bonding Structure Directly Based on Substrate Integrated Waveguide Technology

paper_content:

When integrating an integrated circuit (IC) chip with a substrate integrated waveguide (SIW), the usual practice is first to convert the SIW to a microstrip, and then make wire bonding between the IC Chip and the microstrip. Consequently, the transition between the SIW and microstrip will enlarge the circuit size and introduce extra loss. In this letter, a novel wire bonding structure directly between the SIW and IC Chip is proposed, which not only reduced the circuit size and loss but also weakened the sensitivity etc. Two W-band low noise amplifier (LNA) prototypes are designed and fabricated with and without SIW-to-Microstrip transitions, respectively. Compared with the microstrip wire bonding structure, the direct SIW wire bonding structure efficiently reduced the circuit size and improved the performance.
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Title: A review of key development areas in low-cost packaging and integration of future E-band mm-wave transceivers

Section 1: INTRODUCTION
Description 1: Introduce the significance of ICT development, the limitations faced in developing regions, and the potential of mm-wave transceivers for future wireless communications.

Section 2: APPROACHES
Description 2: Discuss different integration approaches for E-band transceivers, including system-on-chip (SoC) and off-the-shelf component integration, along with their benefits and drawbacks.

Section 3: Hybrid component integration in soft substrates
Description 3: Review the method of hybrid packaging which integrates on-chip semiconductor components with off-chip passive components, and explore potential configurations and their advantages.

Section 4: SOFT SUBSTRATE INTEGRATED WAVEGUIDE SYSTEMS
Description 4: Explore the use of substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) for E-band passive devices, the challenges faced when integrating active components, and potential solutions for full system integration.

Section 5: CONCLUSION
Description 5: Summarize the current state of low-cost E-band system integration, the benefits of discrete semiconductors, and the future directions for development in conventional RF substrates.