24 GHz high sensitivity downconverter using a commercial SiGe HBT MMIC foundry technology

The authors have demonstrated an integrated downconverter addressing the ISM-band at 24 GHz using a standard SiGe HBT MMIC process with an effective emitter width of 0.5 /spl mu/m. Extremely compact circuit layout and transistor structure optimization are applied to a mature Si/SiGe technology, resulting in a low-cost integrated circuit enabling consumer-oriented systems at the 24 GHz ISM band. The integrated components are a preamplifier and a mixer with an IF buffer. The conversion gain is determined to be 40 dB for an intermediate frequency of 100 MHz.