MM-WAVE FULLY INTEGRATED PHASED ARRAY RECEIVER AND TRANSMITTER WITH ON-CHIP ANTENNAS

• US 20100231452A1
• Filed: 09/22/2006
• Published: 09/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: California Institute of Technology
• Original Assignee: California Institute of Technology
• Inventors: Hajimiri, Seyed Ali, Komijani, Abbas, Babakhani, Aydin, Guan, Xiang, Natarajan, Arun
• Granted Patent: US 7,812,775 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/368
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/032 Constructional details for solid-state radar subsystems
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/065 Zone plate type antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/065 Microstrip dipole antennas patch antenna H01Q9/0407

Abstract

A phased array mm-wave device includes a substrate, a mm-wave transmitter integrated onto the substrate configured to transmit a mm-wave signal and/or a mm-wave receiver integrated onto the substrate and configured to receive a mm-wave signal. The mm-wave device also includes a phased array antenna system integrated onto the substrate and including two or more antenna elements. The phased array mm-wave device also includes one or more dielectric lenses. A distributed mm-wave distributed combining tree circuit includes at least two pairs of differential transconductors with regenerative degeneration and accepts at least two differential input signals. Two mm-wave loopback methods measure the phased array antenna patterns and the performance of an integrated receiver transmitter system.

Claims

1. A phased array mm-wave device, comprising:

a substrate;

mm-wave circuitry comprising at least a selected one of;

a transmitter section comprising;

a mm-wave transmitter integrated onto said substrate, said transmitter configured to transmit a mm-wave signal; and

a first phased array antenna system integrated onto said substrate, said first phased array antenna system electrically coupled to said mm-wave transmitter, said first phased array antenna system including two or more antenna elements;

and

a receiver section comprising;

a mm-wave receiver integrated onto said substrate, said receiver configured to receive a mm-wave signal; and

a second phased array antenna system integrated onto said substrate, said second array antenna system electrically coupled to said mm-wave receiver, said second phased array antenna system including two or more antenna elements;

and

one or more dielectric lenses operatively coupled to at least a selected one of said first phased array antenna system and said second phased array antenna system to improve the transmission or the reception of mm-waves from or by the respective phased array antenna system;

wherein all of the mm-wave circuitry is integrated onto said substrate, thereby eliminating a need to couple mm-wave signals off said substrate.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the two or more antenna elements are dipole antennas.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein said one or more dielectric lenses is a single dielectric lens operatively coupled to the one or more antenna elements.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein said one or more dielectric lenses includes a plurality of dielectric lenses individually operatively coupled to at least one of said antenna elements.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the device is constructed as a flip chip and wherein the antennas and at least one dielectric lens are mounted in contact with the flip chip.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the device further includes a silicon wafer disposed between the substrate and the dielectric lens.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the dielectric lens is a shaped structure.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein said shaped structure is a substantially spherical section.

9. The device of claim 7, wherein said shaped structure is a substantially hemispheric shaped section.

10. The device of claim 7, wherein said shaped structure is a substantially elliptical shaped structure.

11. The device of claim 1 wherein the relative position of one or more antenna elements is at a positive or negative extension of one of said one or more dielectric lenses.

12. The device of claim 1 wherein said one or more dielectric lenses comprise a silicon dielectric.

13. The device of claim 1 wherein said one or more dielectric lenses comprise a ceramic dielectric.

14. The device of claim 1 wherein said one or more dielectric lenses comprise a mechanically cut and polished dielectric lens.

15. The device of claim 1 wherein said one or more dielectric lenses further comprise a layer of dielectric matching material.

16. The device of claim 1, wherein the first phased array antenna system and the second phased array antenna system are separate phased array antenna systems.

17. The device of claim 1 wherein the first phased array antenna system and the second phased array antenna system are a common phased array antenna system.

18. The device of claim 1 wherein the device is used for voice or data communications.

19. The device of claim 18 wherein the voice or data communications is substantially in a 24 GHz or 60 GHz radio spectrum band.

20. The device of claim 1 wherein the device is used for radar.

21. The device of claim 20 wherein the radar is substantially operated in a 24 GHz or 77 GHz radio spectrum band.

22. The device of claim 20 wherein the radar is used for automotive radar.

23. The device of claim 1 wherein the receiver comprises a distributed active phase combing circuit including a combining tree using differential routing transmission lines.

24. The device of claim 1 wherein the at least a selected one of said receiver section and said transmitter section comprise dual conversion circuit topologies and at least two oscillator frequencies wherein all of the oscillator signals are derived from a common oscillator situated on the phased array mm-wave device.

25. The device of claim 1 wherein the device is implemented in BiCMOS.

26. The device of claim 1 wherein the device in implemented in CMOS.

27. The device of claim 1 wherein the device in implemented in a silicon based technology.

28. The device of claim 27 wherein the device further comprises germanium.

29. (canceled)

30. (canceled)

31. (canceled)

32. (canceled)

33. (canceled)

34. A mm-wave loopback method comprising the steps of:

providing an integrated receiver transmitter system on one or more substrates including an integral phased array antenna system, said integrated receiver transmitter system comprising;

a substrate;

mm-wave circuitry comprising at least a selected one of;

a transmitter section comprising;

a mm-wave transmitter integrated onto said substrate, said transmitter configured to transmit a mm-wave signal; and

a first phased array antenna system integrated onto said substrate, said first phased array antenna system electrically coupled to said mm-wave transmitter, said first phased array antenna system including two or more antenna elements;

and

a receiver section comprising;

a mm-wave receiver integrated onto said substrate, said receiver configured to receive a mm-wave signal; and

a second phased array antenna system integrated onto said substrate, said second array antenna system electrically coupled to said mm-wave receiver, said second phased array antenna system including two or more antenna elements;

and

one or more dielectric lenses operatively coupled to at least a selected one of said first phased array antenna system and said second phased array antenna system to improve the transmission or the reception of mm-waves from or by the respective phased array antenna system;

coupling a transmitter signal from a transmitter output to a receiver input; and

testing the integrated receiver transmitter system on one or more substrates by varying a baseband input to the transmitter and observing a baseband receiver output.

35. The method of claim 34 further comprising the step of calibrating a plurality of phase shifters to account for fixed phase errors.