A D-Band OOK Transmitter With 50-GHz Bandwidth Achieving 32-Gbps Data Rate in 28-nm CMOS

Abstract

A broadband high-data-rate D-band OOK trans- mitter (TX) is designed in this article for high-speed communica- tion. The TX consists of an adjustable signal source, a broadband high-speed OOK modulator, and a wideband low-noise power amplifier (LNPA). The proposed LNPA can be utilized simul- taneously in both the TX and the receiver to improve the RF bandwidth of the system, thus increasing the data transmission rate. Additionally, a dual-mode balun was utilized, which is compatible with single-ended and differential interfaces. The TX was fabricated in a 28-nm bulk CMOS process and achieved more than 5-dBm output power under 1-V supply voltage with 167-mW dc power consumption. For testing purposes, the TX is connected to a receiver via wire bonding, achieving a data rate of 32 Gbps in the OOK modulation scheme. Moreover, a wideband antenna was designed and implemented on printed circuit board (PCB) for the over-the-air (OTA) transmission, supporting data rates of 20 Gbps at a distance of 6 cm. To the best of our knowledge, this work demonstrates the widest RF bandwidth and the highest data rate in TXs without predistortion and equalization, which can provide excellent performance for D-band high-speed communication.