A CMOS wideband front-end chip using direct RF sampling mixer with embedded discrete-time filtering

A CMOS wideband front-end IC is demonstrated in this paper.It consists of a low noise transconductance amplifier（LNTA） and a direct RF sampling mixer（DSM） with embedded programmable discrete-time filtering.The LNTA has the features of 0.5-6 GHz wideband,wideband input matching and low noise.The embedded filter following the DSM operates in discrete-time charge domain,filtering the aliasing signals and interferences while controlling the IF bandwidth according to the clock frequency.The measured NF of the front-end was below 7 dB throughout the whole band from 0.5 to 6 GHz.It shows a conversion gain of 12.6 dB and IP_（1dB） of-7.5 dBm at 2.4 GHz.It occupies a chip area of 0.23 mm^2 and consumes 14 mA DC current.

A single-ended wideband reconfigurable receiver front-end for multi-mode multi-standard applications in 0.18μm CMOS

This paper presents a reconfigurable RF front-end for multi-mode multi-standard(MMMS) applications. The designed RF front-end is fabricated in 0.18 μm RF CMOS technology. The low noise characteristic is achieved by the noise canceling technique while the bandwidth is enhanced by gate inductive peaking technique. Measurement results show that, while the input frequency ranges from 100 MHz to 2.9 GHz, the proposed reconfigurable RF front-end achieves a controllable voltage conversion gain(VCG) from 18 dB to 39 dB. The measured maximum input third intercept point(IIP3) is-4.9 dBm and the minimum noise figure(NF) is 4.6 dB. The consumed current ranges from 16 mA to 26.5 mA from a 1.8 V supply voltage. The chip occupies an area of 1.17 mm^2 including pads.

Low Complexity Hybrid Wideband Beamforming for Millimeter-Wave Massive MIMO-OFDM Systems

In mmWave massive multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO)communication systems,the extension of low-complexity narrowband precoding schemes to be operated on wideband systems under frequency-selective channels remains an important challenge at the current time.This paper investigates a low complexity wideband hybrid precoding scheme for mmWave massive MIMO multicarrier systems under a single-user,fully-connected hybrid architecture.We show that the radio frequency(RF)precoding/combining vectors can be directly derived from the eigenvectors of the optimal fully-digital covariance matrix over all subcarriers in order to maximize the sum rate of spectral efficiency.We also suggest a new method that iteratively reduces the residual error between the covariance matrix and the sum of products of precoding matrices over all the subcarriers to improve the performance in the case where the number of RF chains is higher than the number of streams.The results of the simulation show that the proposed schemes’complexity is low compared to the present methods,and their performance can almost reach the upper bound achieved by the optimal full-baseband design.

Wideband spectrum sensing using step-sampling based on the multipath nyquist folding receiver

Wideband spectrum sensing with a high-speed analog-digital converter(ADC) presents a challenge for practical systems.The Nyquist folding receiver(NYFR) is a promising scheme for achieving cost-effective real-time spectrum sensing,which is subject to the complexity of processing the modulated outputs.In this case,a multipath NYFR architecture with a step-sampling rate for the different paths is proposed.The different numbers of digital channels for each path are designed based on the Chinese remainder theorem(CRT).Then,the detectable frequency range is divided into multiple frequency grids,and the Nyquist zone(NZ) of the input can be obtained by sensing these grids.Thus,high-precision parameter estimation is performed by utilizing the NYFR characteristics.Compared with the existing methods,the scheme proposed in this paper overcomes the challenge of NZ estimation,information damage,many computations,low accuracy,and high false alarm probability.Comparative simulation experiments verify the effectiveness of the proposed architecture in this paper.

Preliminary investigations of a potential optics system for wideband X-ray telescopes

We present preliminary investigations of a potential optics system for wideband X-ray telescopes.The optical design adopts the conical approximation of the Wolter-I configuration and a combination of multilayer coatings and silicon pore optics.The total number of mirror modules is 79,distributed in 8 rows with the radii at the intersection plane between 250 mm and 500 mm.The optimization of the total effective area using the figure of merits method suggests that the focal length is 30 m and the mirror coating is a combination of the W/Si and Pt/C multilayers.This fulfills the on-axis effective area requirements of 2000 cm^(2) at 10 keV and 300 cm^(2) at 60 keV and provides a broad energy response between 3 keV and 78.4 keV.With the current geometry and coating compositions,we implement a mass modeling of the telescope in Geant4 to predict mirror performances via the ray-tracing algorithm,including the angular resolution and effective area.With the presumed metrological data as input,this can provide precision and finishing requirements for the manufacture of optics.This work demonstrates the feasibility of combining multilayer coatings and silicon pore optics for potential use in wideband X-ray telescopes and advances the development and progress of such missions.

Design and Analysis of Analog Front-End of Passive RFID Transponders

An analog front-end of HF passive RFID transponders compatible with ISO/IEC 18000-3 is presented.Design considerations, especially the power transmission in the RFID transponder, are analyzed. Based on these considerations,an analog front-end is presented with novel architecture, high power conversion efficiency, low voltage, low power consumption, and high performance in an environment of noise and power fluctuation. The circuit is implemented in a Chartered 0.35μm standard CMOS process. The experimental results show that the chip can satisfy the design target well.

An Ultra Wideband VHF CMOS LC VCO

This paper presents a VHF CMOS VCO. The most significant improvement on the VCO is that the cross-coupled MOSFET pairs are divided into several switchable parts so the characteristics can compensate the state change that results from the frequency tuning of the oscillator. This VCO is implemented in 0, 18μm CMOS with a core area of about 550μm × 700μm. The test results show that the tuning range covers 31-111MHz with a power consumption between 0.3-6. 9mW and a phase noise at a 100kHz offset of about - 110dBc/Hz.

A4~12GHz Wideband Balanced MIC Power Amplifier

A 4-12GHz wideband power amplifier,using a balanced configuration with a strip line Lange coupler, is designed and fabricated. This power amplifier shows a maximum continuous wave output power of 29.5dBm at 8GHz center frequency with an associated gain of 8.5dB and a gain flatness of ＋ /- 0.6dB in the 4-12GHz frequency range.

Wideband CMOS LC VCO design and phase noise analysis

A wideband LC cross-coupled voltage controlled oscillator（VCO） is designed and realized with standard 0. 18 μm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor（CMOS） technology. Band switching capacitors are adopted to extend the frequency tuning range, and the phase noise is optimized in the design procedure. The functional relationships between the phase noise and the transistors＇ width-length ratios are deduced by a linear time variant （LTV） model. The theoretical optimized parameter value ranges are determined. To simplify the calculation, the working region is split into several sub-ranges according to transistor working conditions. Thus, a lot of integrations are avoided, and the phase noise function upon the design variables can be expressed as simple proportion formats. Test results show that the DC current is 8.8 mA under a voltage supply of 1.8 V; the frequency range is 1.17 to 1.90 GHz, and the phase noise reaches - 83 dBc/Hz at a 10 kHz offset from the carrier. The chip size is 1. 2 mm × 0. 9 mm.

MODIFIED ULTRA WIDEBAND CIRCULAR PRINTED MONOPOLE ANTENNA

A simple and compact microstrip-fed ultra wideband （UWB） printed monopole antenna is presented. The antenna is composed of a circular radiator and a finitely grounded plane. The antenna occupies about 16.62 GHz absolute bandwidth and 142.7% relative bandwidth covering from 3.38 GHz to 20 GHz with voltage standing wave ratio （VSWR） below two. A quasi-omnidirectional and quasi-symmetrical radiation pattern in H plane is obtained in the whole bandwidth. The high performance of the antenna is validated with measured and simulated results given. The antenna can be applied for the system design of UWB wireless communication.

宽带相控阵雷达孔径渡越与距离徙动联合校正

宽带相控阵雷达探测高速运动目标时,目标回波快时间频率与空、时二维耦合,容易出现孔径渡越和距离徙动双重问题。针对该情况,提出一种联合校正方法:当雷达工作于窄发模式时,通过频域补偿和一维时间尺度(TS)进行解耦;当雷达工作于宽发模式时,通过二维TS进行解耦。针对雷达工作模式界定问题给出了明确条件。仿真结果表明,所提方法可有效解决孔径渡越、距离徙动引起的目标回波跨阵元、跨脉冲问题,联合校正后目标有效检测临界信噪比较理想状态损失不超过3 dB。

A 12-Channel,30Gb/s,0.18μm CMOS Front-End Amplifier for Parallel Optic-Fiber Receivers

This paper presents a 12-channel,30Gb/s front-end amplifier realized in standard 0.18μm CMOS technology for parallel optlc-fiber receivers. In order to overcome the problem of inadequate bandwidth caused by the large parasitical capacitor of CMOS photo-detectors,a regulated-cascode structure and noise optimization are used in the design of the transimpedance amplifier. The experimental results indicate that, with a parasitical capacitance of 2pF,a single channel is able to work at bite rates of up to 2.5Gb/s,and a clear eye diagram is obtained with a 0. 8mVpp input. Furthermore, an isolation structure combined with a p^＋ guard.ring （PGR）, an n^＋ guard-ring （NGR）,and a deep-n-well （DNW） for parallel amplifier is also presented. Taking this combined structure, the crosstalk and the substrate noise coupling have been effectively reduced. Compared with the isolation of PGR or PGR ＋ NGR,the measured results show that the isolation degree of this structure is improved by 29.2 and 8. ldB at 1GHz,and by 8. 1 and 2. 5dB at 2GHz,respectively. With a 1.8V supply,each channel of the front-end amplifier consumes a DC power of 85mW,and the total power consumption of 12 channels is about 1W.

Frequency synthesizer for DRM/DAB/AM/FM RF front-end

This paper describes a wideband low phase noise frequency synthesizer.It operates in the multi-band including digital radio mondiale DRM digital audio broadcasting DAB amplitude modulation AM and frequency modulation FM .In order to cover the signals of the overall frequencies a novel frequency planning and a new structure are proposed. A wide-band low-phase-noise low-power voltage-control oscillator VCO and a high speed wide band high frequency division ratio pulse swallow frequency divider with a low power consumption are presented.The monolithic DRM/DAB/AM/FM frequency synthesizer chip is also fabricated in a SMIC＇s 0.18-μm CMOS process.The die area is 1 425 μm ×795 μm including the test buffer and pads. The measured results show that the VCO operating frequency range is from 2.22 to 3.57 GHz the measured phase noise of the VCO is 120.22 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset the pulse swallow frequency divider operation frequency is from 0.9 to 3.4 GHz.The phase noise in the phase-locked loop PLL is-59.52 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz offset and fits for the demand of the DRM/DAB/AM/FM RF front-end. The proposed frequency synthesizer consumes 47 mW including test buffer under a 1.8 V supply.

Patent Information Analysis of Front-end Industry Chain in China's Tobacco Industry

The research performed analysis on patent applicant ranking, IPC, patent type and legal status in order to explore application and authorization of front-end industry chain dominated by planting, breeding, soil improvement and substrate culti- vation technologies. The results showed that research institutions and big tobacco enterprises play a leading role in the tobacco industry, for example, Yunnan Tobac- co Agricultural S＆T Research Institute and Guizhou Tobacco Agricultural S＆T Re- search Institute have a total of 26 patents; A01G subclass represents 58% of total patents, dominated by Yunnan Tobacco Agricultural S＆T Research Institute and Henan Agricultural University; there are only invention and practical use patents, of which invention patents represent 92%; authorized patents take up to 31% and in- valid patents represent 23%.

A wideband low-phase-noise LC VCO for DRM/DAB frequency synthesizer

The wideband CMOS voltage-controlled oscillator（VCO）with low phase noise and low power consumption is presented for a DRM/DAB（digital radio mondiale and digital audio broadcasting）frequency synthesizer.In order to obtain a wide band and a large tuning range,a parallel switched capacitor bank is added in the LC tank.The proposed VCO is implemented in SMIC 0.18-μm RF CMOS technology and the chip area is 750 μm×560 μm,including the test buffer circuit and the pads.Measured results show that the tuning range is 44.6%;i.e.,the frequency turning range is from 2.27 to 3.57 GHz.The measured phase noise is-122.22 dBc/Hz at a 1 MHz offset from the carrier.The maximum power consumption of the core part is 6.16 mW at a 1.8 V power supply.

Analysis and Design of a Low-Cost RFID Tag Analog Front-End

A new,low-cost RFID tag analog front-end compatible with ISO 14443A and ISO 14443B is presented. By substituting conventional multi-circle antenna with single-circle antenna, the package cost of the tag is greatly reduced. Based on this exasperate antenna performance,a new rectifier with high power conversion efficiency and low turn-on voltage is presented. The circuit is implemented in an SMIC 0.18μm EEPROM process. Measurement results show that with a 120kΩ load,the power conversion efficiency reaches as high as 36%. For a sinusoidal wave with magnitude of 0. 5V, the output DC voltage reaches IV,which is high enough for RFID tags. The read distance is as far as 22cm.

Ultra-wideband bilateral tapered slot-line antenna fed by coplanar waveguide

In order to broaden the bandwidth of a tapered slot- line antenna （TSA）, a bilateral tapered slot-line antenna （BTSA） with a new feeding structure of coplanar waveguide （CPW） is developed. Based on the fact that the bandwidth limitation of TSA mainly depends on its feeding structure, an improved CPW-based feed structure etched on the backboard of the BTSA is adopted to perform traveling-wave transition. Both the simulation results and measurement data verify that the proposed feeding structure results in ＂high-pass＂ frequency response for antenna impedance matching. The voltage standing wave ratio （VSWR） is less than 2：1 when the frequency is higher than 3 GHz. The antenna gain exceeds 7 dBi with good radiation patterns when the bandwidth is from 4 to 16 GHz. This ultra wideband （UWB） antenna with a compact size is specially available for the electronic systems of counter-measure and microwave imaging.

Wideband Signal Detection Based on MWC Discrete Compressed Sampling Structure

In order to solve the cross-channel signal problem caused by the uniform channelized wideband digital receiver when processing wideband signal and the problem that the sensitivity of the system greatly decreases when the bandwidth of wideband digital receiver increases,which both decrease the wideband radar signal detection performance,a new wideband digital receiver based on the modulated wideband converter(MWC)discrete compressed sampling structure and an energy detection method based on the new receiver are proposed.Firstly,the proposed receiver utilizes periodic pseudo-random sequences to mix wideband signals with baseband and other sub-bands.Then the mixed signals are low-pass filtered and downsampled to obtain the baseband compressed sampling data,which can increase the sensitivity of the system.Meanwhile,the cross-channel signal will all appear in any subbands,so the cross-channel signal problem can be solved easily by processing the baseband compressed sampling data.Secondly,we establish the signal detection model and formulate the criterion of the energy detection method.And we directly utilize the baseband compressed sampling data to carry out signal detection without signal reconstruction,which decreases the complexity of the algorithm and reduces the computational burden.Finally,simulation experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed receiver and show that the proposed signal detection method is effective in low signal-to-noise ratio(SNR)compared with the conventional energy detection and the probability of detection increases significantly when SNR increases.

A Low Noise,1.25Gb/s Front-End Amplifier for Optical Receivers

This paper presents a low noise, 1.25Gb/s and 124dBΩ front-end amplifier that is designed and fabricated in 0.25μm CMOS technology for optical communication applications. Active inductor shunt peaking technology and noise optimization are used in the design of a trans-impedance amplifier,which overcomes the problem of inadequate bandwidth caused by the large parasitical capacitor of the CMOS photodiode. Experimental results indicate that with a parasitical capacitance of 2pF,this circuit works at 1.25Gb/s. A clear eye diagram is obtained with an input optical signal of - 17dBm. With a power supply of 3.3V, the front-end amplifier consumes 122mW and provides a 660mV differential output.

A wideband metamaterial absorber based on a magnetic resonator loaded with lumped resistors

A wideband metamaterial absorber （MA） based on a magnetic resonator loaded with lumped resistors is presented. It is composed of a one-dimensional periodic array of double U-shaped structured magnetic resonators loaded with lumped resistors, a dielectric substrate, and a metal plate. We simulated, fabricated, measured, and analyzed the MA. The experimental results show that the reflectance （S11） is below -10 dB at normal incidence in the frequency range of 7.7 GHz 18 GHz, and the peak value is about -20 dB. Simulated power loss density distributions indicate that wideband absorption of the MA is mainly attributable to the lumped resistors in the magnetic resonator. Further investigations indicate that the distance between two unit cells along the magnetic field direction significantly influences the performance of the MA.