This paper presents the design and implementation of a low power, highly linear, wideband RF front-end in 90nm CMOS. The architecture consists of an inverter-like common gate low noise amplifier followed by a passive ring mixer. The proposed architecture achieves high linearity in a wide band (0.5-6GHz) at very low power. Therefore, it is a suitable choice for software defined radio (SDR) receivers. The chip measurement results indicate that the inverter-like common gate input stage has a broadband input match achieving S11 below -8.8dB up to 6GHz. The measured single sideband noise figure at an LO frequency of 2GHz and an IF of 10MHz is 6.25dB. The front-end achieves a voltage conversion gain of 4.5dB at 1GHz with 3dB bandwidth of more than 6GHz. The measured input referred 1dB compression point is +1.5dBm while the IIP3 is +11.73dBm and the IIP2 is +26.23dBm respectively at an LO frequency of 2GHz. The RF front-end consumes 6.2mW from a 1.1V supply with an active chip area of 0.0856mm².

A wideband multibeam antenna for integration in small platforms such as UAVs has been demonstrated. The demonstration was performed on a single facet comprising an 8×4 bowtie antenna elements array and a beamforming network which includes both transmitter and receiver chains and can therefore be used in multifunction systems for EW and communication. The operating frequency band chosen for this demonstrator is 6 - 15 GHz. Due to the modularity of the concept, the demonstrated facet can either be used stand alone or forming a faceted array depending on the required field of coverage and/or platform structure. A compact and lightweight phased array concept for 360o coverage is also discussed.

This paper presents a design approach for flexible RF circuits using Programmable Microwave Function Array (PROMFA) cells. The concept is based on an array of generic cells that can be dynamically reconfigured. Therefore, the same circuit can be used for various functions e.g. amplifier, tunable filter and tunable oscillator. For proof of concept a test chip has been implemented in 90nm CMOS process. The chip measurement results indicate that a single unit cell amplifier has a typical gain of 4dB with noise figure of 2.65dB at 1.5GHz. The measured input referred 1dB compression point is -8dBm with an IIP3 of +1.1dBm at 1GHz. In a single unit cell oscillator configuration, the oscillator can achieve a wide tuning range of 600MHz to 1.8GHz. The measured phase noise is -94dBc/Hz at an offset frequency of 1MHz for the oscillation frequency of 1.2GHz. A single unit cell oscillator consumes 18mW at 1.2GHz while providing -8dBm power into 50Ω load. In a single unit cell filter configuration, the tunable band pass filter can achieve a reasonable tuning range of 600MHz to 1.2GHz with a typical power consumption of 13mW at 1GHz. A single unit cell has a total chip area of 0.091mm2 including the coupling capacitors.

This paper presents a self-tuning technique for optimization of a dual band LNAthat can be used in a flexible RF front-end suitable for IEEE 802.11a/b/g WLANapplications. With this tuning technique the LNA can perform self-calibrationfor the optimal performance. A possible shift in resonance frequency due toprocess and temperature variations can be compensated by this method. Theproposed self-tuning technique is implemented by using a simple RF detector atthe LNA output. Based on the DC value provided by this detector the LNA istuned for a maximum gain through the tuning loop, which incorporates ADC,digital base-band and DAC. We show that the tuning error can be within halfLSB of ADC provided the DAC and ADC resolutions are constraint by aspecified condition. For 4-bit case this value corresponds to a gain error of0.4 dB. The LNA has been implemented in 0.2μm GaAs process offered byOMMIC^TM. In measurements the LNA achieves a gain of 15.1 dB and 21.6 dBin the upper and lower band, respectively, with corresponding NF of 3.8 dB and2.8 dB. In the lower band the measured IIP3 is -3 dBm and 1dB_CP is -8 dBm.

This paper describes the use of programmable microwave function array (PROMFA) for different microwave application. The PROMFA concept is based on an array of generic cells, in which a number of different functions can be realized. Each PROMFA cell is a four-port circuit, that can either be programmed independently or collectively according to a specific need. Specifically, the phase shift capability in a single PROMFA cell, useful for a new type of phase shifter design is discussed. The paper also presents the functionality of this new architecture as a beamforming network. As an example case an active corporate feed network and a tunable recursive filter is demonstrated. Simulated and measured results are presented.

This paper presents a dual band LNA that can be switched between two bands (2.4 GHz & 5.2 GHz) for IEEE 802.1 la/b/g WLAN applications. The LNA is also tunable within each band and the tuning is incorporated by on-chip varactors. The test chip consists of two fully integrated narrow-band tunable LNAs along with SPDT switch. For power saving one LNA can be switched off. The technology process is 0.2 mum GaAs offered by OMMIC. The LNA can achieve a relatively good performance over the two bands as demonstrated by simulation. With a 3V supply, the LNA has a gain of 26.2 dB at 2.4 GHz and 21.8 dB at 5.2 GHz and the corresponding NF varies between 2.07 dB and 1.84 dB, respectively. The LNA has an IIP3 of -7 dBm at 2.4 GHz and -1.6 dBm at 5.2 GHz.