Ultra Broadband Low-Power 70 GHz Active Balun in 130-nm SiGe BiCMOS

Abstract

This paper presents an ultra broadband low-power single-ended to differential active balun. The balun has been fabricated using IHP SG13S SiGe 130-nm BiCMOS technology, which features an ftof 250 GHz and an fmaxof 340 GHz. Conversely to other works, the designed circuit is based exclusively on two transistors in common-emitter and common-base configuration, fed by a current source with a high output impedance. Moreover, the design does not employ inductors accommodating a compact form-factor. A theoretical analysis demonstrates a single-ended to single-ended identical gain in amplitude for both outputs with opposite phase. Small-signal measurements validate the proposed work up to 70 GHz achieving a maximum phase and amplitude imbalance of 3.2° and 0.65 dB, respectively. Furthermore, a peak gain of 2.3 dB and a 3-dB bandwidth of 57 GHz are shown. Large-signal measurements show an input 1-dB compression point (IP1dB) better than -7dBm along the whole 3-dB bandwidth, together with a power consumption of 37 mW. The occupied silicon area is 0.42 mm2, pads included.

Authors 6

1. Aniello Franzese

   Leibniz Institute for High Performance Microelectronics

   Affiliation as printed

   IHP - Leibniz-Institut für innovative Mikroelektronik, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany

2. Mohamed Hussein Eissa

   Leibniz Institute for High Performance Microelectronics

   Affiliation as printed

   IHP - Leibniz-Institut für innovative Mikroelektronik, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany

3. Thomas Mausolf

   Leibniz Institute for High Performance Microelectronics

   Affiliation as printed

   IHP - Leibniz-Institut für innovative Mikroelektronik, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany

4. Dietmar Kissinger

   Universität Ulm

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Electronic Devices and Circuits, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany

5. Renato Negra Aachen Chair of High Frequency Electronics

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Chair of High Frequency Electronics, RTWH Aachen, Aachen, Germany

6. Andrea Malignaggi

   Leibniz Institute for High Performance Microelectronics

   Affiliation as printed

   IHP - Leibniz-Institut für innovative Mikroelektronik, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany