High-Speed SiGe HBT BiCMOS Circuits for Communication and Radar Transceivers

Abstract

This dissertation explores high-speed silicon-germanium (SiGe) heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) bipolar complementary metal oxide semiconductor (BiCMOS) circuits for next-generation ground- and space-based millimeter-wave (MMW >= 30 GHz) communication front-ends and X-band (8 to 12 GHz) radar (radio detection and ranging) modules. The requirements of next-generation transceivers, for both radar and communication applications, are low power, small size, light weight, low cost, high performance, and high reliability. For this purpose, the high-speed circuits that satisfy the demanding specifications of next-generation transceivers are implemented in SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology, and the device-circuit interactions of SiGe HBTs to transceiver building blocks for performance optimization and radiation tolerance are investigated. For X-band radar module components, the dissertation covers: (1) The design of an ultra-low-noise X-band SiGe HBT low-noise-amplifier (LNA). (2) The design of low-loss shunt and series/shunt X-band Si CMOS single-pole double-throw (SPDT) switches. (3) The design of a low-power X-band SiGe HBT LNA for near-space radar applications. For MMW communication front-end circuits, the dissertation covers: (4) The design of an inductorless SiGe HBT ring oscillator for MMW operation. (5) The study of emitter scaling and device biasing on MMW SiGe HBT voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) performance. (6) The study of proton radiation on MMW SiGe HBT transceiver building blocks.