A 0.25-μm Si-Ge millimeter-wave damping pulse transmitter chip with on-chip loop antenna array

This paper presents a 100–120-GHz pulse transmitter chip with a 54×24 on-chip loop antenna array for indoor millimeter wave (mm-wave) imaging applications. This 4-mm×4-mm transmitter for the purpose of beam-forming is designed and fabricated in a 2.5-V 0.25-μm 4-metal-layer Si-Ge Bi-CMOS process. The 23-μm×23-μm loop antenna located on the top-metal layer operates as an inductor in an mm-wave pulse generating circuit. Each of the on-chip damping pulse generators includes an R-L-C circuit, a BJT operated as a switch and a CMOS inverter chain circuit for shaping the rising edge of the input clock. Simulation results by EMDS, ADS 2009 and HSPICE show that loop antenna's inductance and resistance at 80–120 GHz are 51 pH and 3 Ω, respectively. By using an mm-wave power meter, a 90–140-GHz standard horn antenna and a Schottky diode detector, we demonstrate the ability of an integrated mm-wave pulse generator for the purpose of beam-forming.