SiGe BiCMOS transceivers, antennas, and ultra-low-cost packaging for the ISM bands at 122 and 245 GHz

This paper reviews recent results of wireless transmitter and receiver ICs at 122 and 245 GHz in 0.13 µm SiGe BiCMOS technology together with an efficient on-chip antenna. A transmitter IC with 5 dBm output power and directional onchip power measurement for built-in-self-test is presented. A 122 GHz passive HBT diode mixer design is discussed and results are shown. The mixer exhibits superior 1/f noise performance which makes it especially suitable for FMCW/CW radar sensors. Furthermore a highly integrated 245 GHz transmitter with 1 dBm maximum output power was realized. The IC dissipates only 380 mW. A low-loss on-chip antenna for 130 GHz with 60% efficiency was implemented and measured. It uses localized backside etching techniques and allows for simplified and very cost-efficient mm-wave packaging.