Smart Phased Array SoCs: A Novel Application for Advanced SiGe HBT BiCMOS Technology

As BiCMOS IC technology continues to advance in scaling and performance, new applications are continually enabled. One such concept is a smart phased array system on a chip (SoC). The combination of high-performance SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) bipolar devices, well-characterized RF/analog passive components, and dense CMOS digital technology provides the capability to create large multielement, electronically tunable phased arrays with onboard processing intelligence, inside a single die. This SoC will have superior characteristics of lower cost, weight, and size as compared to the large multichip, multitechnology, and multipackage systems in deployment today. Furthermore, using reconfigurable logic and embedded memory, this SoC has the advantage of dynamic software and digital signal processing engine updates, without expensive redesigns of the chip. This publication will describe the necessary ingredients to create such an SoC as well as relevant applications of smart phased arrays that require an SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology. Potential markets for this technology include communications systems, weather tracking, radio astronomy, automotive radar, cellular basestation capacity improvement, satellite and aerial resource imaging, ground-level airplane collision avoidance, as well as military tracking and guidance systems.