A Single-Chip Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Transceiver in 0.13-$\mu$ m SiGe BiCMOS

We report the first absorption-based single-chip transceiver for electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy in silicon. The chip is implemented in a 0.13-μm SiGe BiCMOS process technology. The transmitter generates and delivers a continuous-wave microwave signal with a frequency range from 895 to 979 MHz and the receiver adopts a direct-conversion architecture. Based on the single-chip transceiver and a printed-circuit-board-based planar resonator, an EPR spectrometer is assembled and tested. The spectrometer successfully measures the EPR response from samples including 2,2-Diphenyl-1-Picrylhydrazyl powder, Fe
₃
O
₄
nanoparticles, and Fe
₂
O
₃
nanoparticles.