Design Considerations for a Low-Power Fully Integrated MMIC Parametric Upconverter in SiGe BiCMOS

Abstract

This article presents the detailed design proce- dure of a millimeter-wave low-power fully integrated monolithic millimeter-wave integrated circuit (MMIC) parametric upcon- version circuit in SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) BiCMOS technology. This article comprehensively describes the design considerations to fully exploit the abrupt C–V char- acteristics achieved by the inve stigated diode-connected HBT configuration that, compared with traditionally employed devices, presents a C max /Cmin ratio two orders of magnitude higher. The parametric principle is revised in order to adapt its applicability for these devices and achieve, for the first time, a high-frequency and fully integrated upconverter implementation. Then, the presented concept is verified by designing a 60-GHz parametric double-sideband upconverter prototype. The fabricated circuit demonstrates a conversion gain up to 1.5 dB while consuming 618 µW. The circuit is optimized for wideband operation with a 3-dB IF bandwidth of 5 GHz in both sidebands. Further verification of the theory is provided, by demonstrating and measuring a solution to increase the conversion gain up to 5 dB while reducing the power consumption to 400 µW. In addition, it is shown how the presented distinct design procedure can be extrapolated, within the limitations of the particularly chosen nonlinear device, to design different parametric-based circuits at any arbitrary frequency band.