Millimeter-Wave Beamformer Chips with Smart-Antennas for 5G: Toward Holistic RFSOI Technology Solutions including RF-ADCs

This paper presents RFIC MIMO modules integrating beamformer chips (including PAs, LNAs, T/R switches, power combiners/dividers and digital controls) and smart-antenna arrays including down-converters for 5G. Several solutions: 2×2 (16 antennas) and 4×4 (64 antennas) arrays of RFIC beamformer chips are designed, fabricated and experimentally characterized. Wireless 5G links with real-time high data rate video-streaming capabilities are demonstrated using integrated cameras. Field-Field correlation-based over-the-air near-field and far-field test solutions with and without down-conversion are proposed for MIMO/Massive-MIMO phased-array systems both in frequency and time domains. Cognitive BIST solutions are combined with co-array signal-processing. Perspectives for holistic RFSOI technology solutions, including RF-analog-to-digital converters (RF-ADCs) and adaptive body-biasing systems, are drawn in comparison with BiCMOS, GaAs and GaN based technologies.