A W-Band SiGe Transceiver with Built-in Self-Test

A fully integrated W-band silicon-germanium (SiGe) transceiver is presented which provides a loop-back built-in self-test (BIST) functionality that allows continuous monitoring of the health of the system while in use. In addition, it facilitates on-die measurement of the transmit and receive channels to aid in characterization of the transceivers inside a large phased array system. Measurement results show a close agreement between the on-die and off-chip characterization results. The transceiver can switch from normal operation mode to BIST mode by applying a control signal. Measurement shows receiver SSB noise figure of 12 dB and P1dB of -8.5 dBm and transmitter output power of +8 dBm. The power consumption of the entire transceiver is 150 mW.