UC Berkeley

Research in the mm-wave band using CMOS and SiGe technologies has gained momentum over the past few years. Millimeter-wave circuits are expected to enter consumer electronics in the near future. 60GHz circuits have the potential to be used in high definition wireless video transmission and high data-rate point-to-point communication. 77GHz has been explored for automotive radar and is expected to become more ubiquitous in coming years. 90GHz has been investigated for imaging and remote sensing applications.

Raw silicon transistor performance has improved dramatically in the past decade, which has spurred much of the research. The potential low cost of silicon ICs, especially CMOS, is great motivation to design mm-wave circuits for volume production.

This dissertation is divided into two parts. In the first part, the design of a

60GHz CMOS receiver is presented. Design methodologies for robust operation at 60GHz are introduced at device and circuit levels. Key building blocks of a 60GHz receiver are investigated and several design techniques are proposed to increase the performance of the 60GHz circuits. Second part explores the potential of mm-wave design for imaging applications. Performance requirements and challenges of a 90GHz power amplifier for imaging applications are explored. Circuit and system level design details of a pulsed power amplifier are provided and methodologies for enhancing the performance of those designs are introduced. In the end, A prototype of this power amplifier and its integrated version in an ultra wideband pulsed transmitter are presented.

This thesis is expected to provide a design framework for achieving predictable and desired performance at mm-wave band.