Design and analysis of differential passive circuits for I/Q generation in 60 GHz integrated circuits

Ivan M. Milosavljević, Dušan P. Krčum, Lazar V. Saranovac

Abstract


I/Q generation circuit design is of great importance within the design of modern radars integrated on chip, as well as in high speed communication circuits operating at millimeter wave frequencies. Due to increased robustness on process variations and noise, differential signaling and differential I/Q generators are of particular interest. Several passive topologies suitable for usage in the commercially available 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS process are presented and evaluated. These topologies are: branch-line coupler (BLC), broadside coupler (BSC), poly-phase filter (PPF) and quadrature all-pass filter (QAF). The first three topologies are implemented and the obtained results are compared to results published previously. The designed PPF has a total phase error of over a 40 GHz bandwidth and this is the most desired solution if the total available area is a limiting factor. Transmission lines required for the design of BLC and BSC are small enough, making such structures easy to implement using today’s mainstream technologies. BLC is a reliable and widely used solution for I/Q generation at almost any microwave frequency. Designed BLC has a phase error of over a 7 GHz bandwidth. BSC has proved to be the best solution for I/Q generation in the 60 GHz band. The designed solution has a smaller area than BLC, a phase error of only over a 40 GHz bandwidth and over a 7 GHz bandwidth.


Keywords


millimeter-wave passive circuits, I/Q generation, hybrid coupler, branch-line coupler, broadside coupler, poly-phase filter, quadrature all-pass filter

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References


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