Exploiting mm-Wave and Terahertz Bands for Ultra-Wideband Communication and Sensing

PASSCODE: 192481

With the advances in semiconductor technology, there is a great potential for building solid-state ultra-wideband systems for communication and sensing in millimeter (mm-wave) and terahertz (THz) frequency bands. The primary aim of this dissertation is to develop energy efficient integrated circuits that pave the way for high-speed communication and high-resolution imaging systems in continuous wave and pulsed forms. To this end, first, this dissertation presents the development of an energy efficient 20Gbps wireless transmitter array using an amplitude shift keying modulation at 220GHz in a 55nm SiGe BiCMOS technology. Second, the dissertation introduces a wideband self-referenced frequency stabilization technique that can reduce frequency drift in high frequency wide tuning range free running voltage-controlled oscillators. Using this technique, an energy efficient fully integrated 220GHz frequency stabilized radiator with 44GHz tuning range is developed for high resolution imaging radar applications in the 55nm SiGe BiCMOS technology. Third, a systematic and energy efficient technique to generate ultra-short pulses with pulse width and amplitude that go beyond the speed limit of the transistors is presented in this dissertation. The developed prototype in the 55nm SiGe BiCMOS technology generates a pulse with a 3ps full width at half maximum (FWHM) and 1.8V amplitude across a 50 Ohm load.