Millimeter-Wave Power Amplifiers

367 Pages·2017·8.59 MB·English

by  Jaco du Preez

Signals and Communication Technology
Jaco du Preez
Saurabh Sinha
Millimeter-
Wave Power
Amplifiers
Signals and Communication Technology
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/4748
Jaco du Preez Saurabh Sinha
(cid:129)
Millimeter-Wave Power
fi
Ampli ers
123
JacoduPreez Saurabh Sinha
University of Johannesburg University of Johannesburg
Johannesburg Johannesburg
SouthAfrica SouthAfrica
ISSN 1860-4862 ISSN 1860-4870 (electronic)
Signals andCommunication Technology
ISBN978-3-319-62165-4 ISBN978-3-319-62166-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-62166-1
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2017949135
©SpringerInternationalPublishingAG2017
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Preface
Theutilizationofmm-wavebandsforwirelessradiosystemshasgainedpopularity
at a remarkable rate in the last decade. The numerous benefits offered by systems
thatoperateinthisfrequencyrange(smallercomponents,highlevelofintegration,
largebandwidths,andsubstantiallyimproveddatarates)haveattractedtheattention
of the research and technical community for some time, while the technology
required to implement these systems has continuously matured. A crucial compo-
nent in wireless radio frequency (RF) and microwave systems is the power
amplifier (PA), and this is no different for systems operating in the mm-wave
regime.PAsthatareabletoprovidehighlevelsofoutputpowerandlinearitywhile
being easily integrated with surrounding circuitry are highly sought after, and as
such,significanteffortsarebeingfocusedonpushingthelimitsontheperformance
ofmm-wavePA.Moreover,thePAhasamarkedimpactontheperformanceofthe
system as a whole, and its design involves carefully evaluating the limitations on
power consumption (and therefore, battery life), linearity and spectral purity
imposedonthesystemeitherthroughtheapplication,orthespecificationfollowed.
Alternative techniques with regards to PA topologies, passive components and
optimizations are constantly being explored in the research community, and this
text attempts to consolidate many of the PA developments that are relevant to
mm-wave operation.
The goal of this book is to provide readers with an extensive, research-oriented
resource on mm-wave PAs. Design issues and limitations commonly encountered
are discussed in light of state-of-the-art research, and this approach incidentally
forms alarge portion ofthetext.Asolidbackgroundisprovidedonmm-wavePA
theory as well as technologies that accompany their effective design, with an
emphasis on current generation research as well as possible future trends in
amplifier design. Emerging and existing applications are discussed in light of the
beneficialaspectsoftransitioningintothemm-waveregime,andthetextpaysclose
attention to the challenges relating to the design and manufacturing of such sys-
tems. Maturing wireless standardsfor mm-wave systems,the evolving demandfor
high-bandwidth communication and increasingly sophisticated fabrication tech-
niques for passive components are some of the major driving forces behind this
v
vi Preface
transition. The text aims to clearly highlight the nature of implementing PAs in
modern mm-wave technology, and explains how these approaches often deviate
from established techniques for lower frequency designs (which in this context is
below 30 GHz).
This book is intended for readers at or above a graduate level operating in a
research environment. While there are numerous introductory sections that discuss
basicPAtheory,theseareoftenquitebriefinordertomakewayfordiscussionson
more specialized topics and state-of-the-art case studies. Thesecase studies, which
are discussed in varying levels of detail throughout the text, should be useful for
researchersworkinginsimilarfields.Withthatsaid,thereaderisoftenreferredtoa
staple of existing textbooks that do cover basic PA theory in extraordinary detail
andonewouldbehardpressedtofindaPAdesigner’sbookcollectionthatdoesnot
include at least one of these. In the context of practical implementation, the tech-
niquesandideasthatoriginatefromresearcheffortsinthefield(eitherinacademia
or industry) are often the first step towards developing standardized solutions.
Whileimplementationandmanufacturingchallengesarementionedthroughoutthe
text, the majority of the content is academically oriented insofar as it focuses on
recent developments in the literature.
This book is segmented into two major parts. The first three chapters, which
form theintroductorysection, layabaselineconsistingofPAperformance metrics
(Chap. 1), commonly encountered mm-wave application areas (Chap. 2), and the
currentgenerationofdevicetechnologythatdrivestheimplementationofmm-wave
systems (Chap. 3). Chapter 3 places a strong focus on transistor technologies and
their respective figures of merit that determine their usage in mm-wave PAs. In
addition, passive technologies such as through-silicon via, on-chip inductors,
diodes,andtransmissionlinesarediscussed.Thesecondpartofthisbookexplores
state-of-the-art developments that have been produced primarily by the research
communitywiththeprincipalfocusbeingonPAtopologies.Transistorscalinginto
the nanometer range introduces a myriad of challenges for the designer to over-
come, and many PA topologies originally arose in order to deal with these limi-
tations. Additionally, each major amplification technique (linear mode, switching
and stacked-device PAs) is divided into two parts for mm-wave CMOS and
SiGe HBT technologies.
ThesecondpartbeginswithChap.4,discussingthesimplestmodesofoperation
thatarecommonlyconsideredtobelinear-modePAs,andthenuancesthatrelateto
linear amplification with nonlinear devices. Moreover, the theoretical basis of
reduced conduction angle operation is laid out in this chapter, which is then
expanded to express several PA performance metrics in terms of the conduction
angle. In contrast to continuous mode operation, Chap. 5 focuses on switching
amplifiers which, in contrast to current-source amplifiers, operates the active
device as a voltage-controlled switch in order to achieve signal amplification.
Chapter 6 focuses on a popular expansion of the switching modes of operation,
whichinvolvesverticallystackingmultiplenonlineardevices,primarilytoincrease
output power. Class-E-like PAs are very well suited for transistor stacking at
mm-wavefrequencies,andtechniquesfordesigningsuchamplifierswithHBTand
Preface vii
FET devices are covered in detail. Chapter 7 in part consolidates some imple-
mentation details discussed in earlier chapters and expands upon these concepts to
provide an overview of techniques that are typically employed to improve the
performance of mm-wave PAs. Linearity and efficiency are often tightly coupled
and,inadditiontooutputpowerandbandwidth,constitutethePAmetricsthatoften
require careful consideration in order to meet the specifications of mm-wave
designs. Moreover, new techniques to tackle these issues are constantly being
published, and Chap. 7 attempts to cover a broad spectrum of such methods.
Chapter 8 takes this concept of performance enhancement to a higher level of
abstraction, and discusses how performance issues are addressed at the transmitter
architecture level. Several common transmitters are compared in terms of their
characteristics and preferred application areas. Furthermore, the emerging concept
of PA self-healing is overviewed in Chap. 8.
TheauthorswouldliketoacknowledgeDr.RiëttedeLange,Director:Research
Productivity & Improvement of Staff Qualifications, Strategic Initiatives &
Administration, University of Johannesburg, South Africa for her coordination.
Furthermore, the authors would like to acknowledge the support of technical
reviewers as well as language and graphic editors who have all contributed to this
process. We value the system of scholarly peer review, and the approach that the
same adds towards producing research text that adds to the body of scientific
knowledge.
Johannesburg, South Africa Jaco du Preez
Saurabh Sinha
Contents
Part I Introduction
1 Power Amplifiers for Millimeter-Wave Systems .... .... ..... .... 3
1.1 Overview of Power Amplifier Applications in Millimeter-Wave
Bands. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 3
1.2 Power Amplifiers in Millimeter-Wave Transmitters ... ..... .... 4
1.2.1 Sliding-IF Superheterodyne Transmitter Architecture . .... 5
1.2.2 Direct Conversion Transmitter Architecture ... ..... .... 6
1.3 Fundamental Parameters of Power Amplifiers ... .... ..... .... 8
1.3.1 Gain .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 8
1.3.2 Impedance Matching. .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 14
1.3.3 Stability.. .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 19
1.3.4 Bandwidth.... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 20
1.3.5 Noise Figure.. ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 23
1.3.6 Linearity. .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 26
1.3.7 Reverse Isolation.... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 31
1.3.8 Output Power and Efficiency... .... .... .... ..... .... 31
1.4 Role of Electronic Design Automation in Power Amplifier
Design .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 34
1.5 Content Overview.... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 35
References.. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 35
2 Systems Aspects of Millimeter-Wave Power Amplifiers .. ..... .... 39
2.1 Antennas for Millimeter-Wave Applications. .... .... ..... .... 40
2.1.1 Antenna Parameters.. .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 40
2.1.2 Antenna Structures for Millimeter-Wave Systems.... .... 44
2.2 Millimeter-Wave Wireless Communication Systems... ..... .... 48
2.2.1 The Friis Transmission Formula .... .... .... ..... .... 49
2.2.2 Link Budget .. ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 50
ix
x Contents
2.2.3 Digital Modulation .. .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 52
2.2.4 Wireless Communication Standards . .... .... ..... .... 55
2.2.5 Millimeter-Wave Cellular Networks . .... .... ..... .... 56
2.2.6 Wireless Communication Algorithms .... .... ..... .... 57
2.3 Millimeter-Wave Radar .... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 59
2.3.1 Radar Fundamentals . .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 61
2.3.2 Automotive Radar... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 70
2.3.3 Military Radar. ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 72
2.4 Imaging ... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 73
2.4.1 Millimeter-Wave Radiometry .. .... .... .... ..... .... 74
2.4.2 Millimeter-Wave Imaging Systems.. .... .... ..... .... 75
2.5 Closing Remarks .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 76
References.. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 77
3 Technologies for Millimeter-Wave Power Amplifiers.... ..... .... 81
3.1 The Importance of Silicon to Integrated Circuits . .... ..... .... 81
3.2 Bipolar Transistors... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 82
3.2.1 Operating Principles in the Forward-Active Mode ... .... 83
3.2.2 Frequency Limitations.... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 86
3.3 Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors.... .... .... .... ..... .... 93
3.3.1 SiGe Epitaxy.. ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 95
3.3.2 HBT Figures of Merit.... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 95
3.3.3 Vertical and Lateral Scaling ... .... .... .... ..... .... 99
3.4 Field-Effect Transistors..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 100
3.4.1 Basic MOSFET Operation .... .... .... .... ..... .... 101
3.4.2 High Frequency Performance .. .... .... .... ..... .... 102
3.4.3 CMOS for Millimeter-Wave Circuits .... .... ..... .... 105
3.5 High Electron Mobility Transistors.... .... .... .... ..... .... 106
3.6 Passive Components.. ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 107
3.6.1 On-Chip Inductors... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 108
3.6.2 Schottky Barrier Diodes .. .... .... .... .... ..... .... 111
3.6.3 PIN Diodes... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 112
3.6.4 Through-Silicon via Technology.... .... .... ..... .... 113
3.6.5 Capacitors.... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 114
3.6.6 On-Chip Transmission Lines... .... .... .... ..... .... 114
3.7 System-on-Package Technology.. .... .... .... .... ..... .... 116
3.8 Closing Remarks .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 117
References.. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 117
Part II Design Principles and State of the Art Review
4 Linear-Mode Millimeter-Wave Power Amplifiers... .... ..... .... 125
4.1 Analysis of Reduced Conduction Angle Waveforms .. ..... .... 126
4.1.1 Drain Current . ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 126