Abstract:
There have recently been numerous reports on sub-THz transmitters (TX) and receivers (RX) for high-speed wireless communications, covering chip-level TX and/or RX designs...Show MoreMetadata
Abstract:
There have recently been numerous reports on sub-THz transmitters (TX) and receivers (RX) for high-speed wireless communications, covering chip-level TX and/or RX designs and their modularization including antenna integration. Compared to these, there still are much fewer reports on beam steering [1]–[7]. At sub-THz frequencies (here we focus on 200 GHz or higher), beam steering based on a phased array of TXs/RXs (as opposed to phased array of oscillators) is extremely challenging because of the very short wavelengths ( \lambda=1.5 mm or shorter in air). Ideally, antennas should be arrayed with a pitch of \lambda/2 or shorter. This necessitates that the short side of the TX/RX chip be shorter than \lambda/2, if the chips are to be arrayed horizontally to form a 1D array. Note that because of high losses of transmission lines and waveguides at these frequencies, arraying of small phase shifters only is not usually an option, and TX/RX chips need to be arrayed. As such, antenna pitches reported in [3]–[6] were all greater than \lambda/2. Only [7] demonstrated an antenna array with a \lambda/2 pitch. This was realized by vertically stacking antennas built into printed circuit boards (PCBs). However, all these were 1D arrays, and no 2D beam steering seems to have been reported above 200 GHz. Herein we present a 2D beam-steerable CMOS RX module operating at 252–285 GHz. It combines a 1D phased array for horizontal beam steering and a motorized planocylindrical lens for mechanical vertical beam steering.
Published in: 2023 IEEE Asian Solid-State Circuits Conference (A-SSCC)
Date of Conference: 05-08 November 2023
Date Added to IEEE Xplore: 18 December 2023
ISBN Information: