A 77 GHz Low LO Power Mixer With a Split Self-Driven Switching Cell in 65 nm CMOS Technology

A low LO power mixer with high gain by using a split self-driven switching cell for automotive applications at 77 GHz is presented. By splitting the switching cell, the required LO power is reduced and the VCO has less capacitive loading. The mixer has a peak conversion gain of 6.8 dB and the input 1 dB compression point is 7 dBm at LO power of 5 dBm. The chip is fabricated in 65 nm CMOS technology and the chip size including a Marchand balun is 790 μm × 590 μm. The total power consumption is 3 mW from a 1.2 V supply.