23GHz front-end circuits in SiGe BiCMOS technology

This paper reports a monolithic 23GHz low-noise converter (LNC) and its blocks implemented in commercial SiGe BiCMOS process featuring 70GHz f/sub T/ and 90GHz f/sub max/. In general, measurement and simulation show close correspondence. For low-noise amplifier, 43dB noise figure (NF) and 22dB gain are typically obtained. For mixers, 13.5-15.5dB single sideband NF, 2-6dB gain and 2-8dBm IIP3 are measured, depending on whether or not linearizer is applied. The LNC converts an RF signal around 23GHz down to an IF of 1GHz. Its performance is described and related questions are discussed at the end of this paper.