SiGe HBT ICs with High Operational to Transit Frequency Ratio: Design and Design Re-use (English shop)

Preview

Table of Contents, Datei (35 KB)
Extract, Datei (97 KB)

Sébastien Chartier’s dissertation investigates the design and reuse of high-frequency integrated circuits based on silicon-germanium heterojunction bipolar transistors (SiGe HBTs) for millimeter-wave applications. The research focuses on achieving high circuit performance at operating frequencies exceeding one-third of the transistor transit frequency. At the same time, design reuse strategies are investigated to reduce development time and manufacturing costs by adapting existing circuit architectures to different frequency ranges. The study employs Atmel’s SiGe2RF technology and IHP’s SG25H1 SiGe BiCMOS technology. A fundamental aspect involves the accurate modeling of passive high-frequency components, particularly thin-film microstrip lines and integrated inductors fabricated on lossy silicon substrates. Based on these models, various low-noise millimeter-wave amplifiers using cascode architectures are developed and evaluated in terms of gain, impedance matching, and isolation. Further investigations address voltage-controlled oscillators, focusing on phase noise reduction, output power, and frequency tuning capabilities. The dissertation also presents a broadband, fully balanced down-conversion mixer based on the Gilbert-cell topology. Another major research area concerns regenerative and static frequency dividers designed to achieve high division ratios, improved sensitivity, and broadband operation. The developed integrated circuits are evaluated through numerical simulations, on-wafer measurements, and experimental characterization. Particular attention is devoted to demonstrating how existing circuit designs can be reused at different operating frequencies by modifying selected passive components. Superheterodyne receivers and automotive radar systems operating in the 77–81 GHz frequency range serve as important application examples. The findings demonstrate that high-performance SiGe HBT circuits can operate successfully at high operational-to-transit-frequency ratios and that systematic design reuse offers significant potential for developing efficient, cost-effective millimeter-wave integrated systems.