Mm-wave fully integrated phased array receiver and transmitter with on-chip antennas
A phased array mm-wave device includes a substrate, a mm-wave transmitter integrated onto the substrate configured to transmit a mm-wave signal and/or a mm-wave receiver integrated onto the substrate and configured to receive a mm-wave signal. The mm-wave device also includes a phased array antenna system integrated onto the substrate and including two or more antenna elements. The phased array mm-wave device also includes one or more dielectric lenses. A distributed mm-wave distributed combining tree circuit includes at least two pairs of differential transconductors with regenerative degeneration and accepts at least two differential input signals. Two mm-wave loopback methods measure the phased array antenna patterns and the performance of an integrated receiver transmitter system.
1. A phased array mm-wave device, comprising:
a single silicon substrate;
mm-wave circuitry comprising at least a selected one of:
a transmitter section comprising:
a mm-wave transmitter integrated onto said substrate, said transmitter configured to transmit a mm-wave signal; and
a first phased array antenna system integrated onto said substrate, said first phased array antenna system electrically coupled to said mm-wave transmitter, said first phased array antenna system including two or more antenna elements;
and
a receiver section comprising:
a mm-wave receiver integrated onto said substrate, said receiver configured to receive a mm-wave signal; and
a second phased array antenna system integrated onto said substrate, said second array antenna system electrically coupled to said mm-wave receiver, said second phased array antenna system including two or more antenna elements;
and
one or more dielectric lenses operatively coupled to at least a selected one of said first phased array antenna system and said second phased array antenna system to improve the transmission or the reception of mm-waves from or by the respective phased array antenna system;
wherein all of the mm-wave circuitry is integrated onto said substrate, thereby eliminating a need to couple mm-wave signals off said substrate.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein the two or more antenna elements are dipole antennas.
3. The device of claim 1 wherein said one or more dielectric lenses is a single dielectric lens operatively coupled to the one or more antenna elements.
4. The device of claim 1 wherein said one or more dielectric lenses includes a plurality of dielectric lenses individually operatively coupled to at least one of said antenna elements.
5. The device of claim 1 wherein the device is constructed as a flip chip and wherein the antennas and at least one dielectric lens are mounted in contact with the flip chip.
6. The device of claim 1 wherein the device further includes a silicon wafer disposed between the substrate and the dielectric lens.
7. The device of claim 1 wherein the dielectric lens is a shaped structure.
8. The device of claim 7 , wherein said shaped structure is a substantially spherical section.
9. The device of claim 7 , wherein said shaped structure is a substantially hemispheric shaped section.
10. The device of claim 7 , wherein said shaped structure is a substantially elliptical shaped structure.
11. The device of claim 1 wherein the relative position of one or more antenna elements is at a positive or negative extension of one of said one or more dielectric lenses.
12. The device of claim 1 wherein said one or more dielectric lenses comprise a silicon dielectric.
13. The device of claim 1 wherein said one or more dielectric lenses comprise a ceramic dielectric.
14. The device of claim 1 wherein said one or more dielectric lenses comprise a mechanically cut and polished dielectric lens.
15. The device of claim 1 wherein said one or more dielectric lenses further comprise a layer of dielectric matching material.
16. The device of claim 1 , wherein the first phased array antenna system and the second phased array antenna system are separate phased array antenna systems.
17. The device of claim 1 wherein the first phased array antenna system and the second phased array antenna system are a common phased array antenna system.
18. The device of claim 1 wherein the device is used for voice or data communications.
19. The device of claim 18 wherein the voice or data communications is substantially in a 24 GHz or 60 GHz radio spectrum band.
20. The device of claim 1 wherein the device is used for radar.
21. The device of claim 20 wherein the radar is substantially operated in a 24 GHz or 77 GHz radio spectrum band.
22. The device of claim 20 wherein the radar is used for automotive radar.
23. The device of claim 1 wherein the receiver comprises a distributed active phase combing circuit including a combining tree using differential routing transmission lines.
24. The device of claim 1 wherein the at least a selected one of said receiver section and said transmitter section comprise dual conversion circuit topologies and at least two oscillator frequencies wherein all of the oscillator signals are derived from a common oscillator situated on the phased array mm-wave device.
25. The device of claim 1 wherein the device is implemented in BiCMOS.
26. The device of claim 1 wherein the device in implemented in CMOS.
27. The device of claim 1 wherein the device in implemented in a silicon based technology.
28. The device of claim 27 wherein the device further comprises germanium.
29. A mm-wave loopback method comprising the steps of:
providing an integrated receiver transmitter system on one or more substrates including an integral phased array antenna system, said integrated receiver transmitter system comprising at least one of a phased array mm-wave device having:
a single silicon substrate;
mm-wave circuitry comprising at least a selected one of:
a transmitter section comprising:
a mm-wave transmitter integrated onto said substrate, said transmitter configured to transmit a mm-wave signal; and
a first phased array antenna system integrated onto said substrate, said first phased array antenna system electrically coupled to said mm-wave transmitter, said first phased array antenna system including two or more antenna elements;
and
a receiver section comprising:
a mm-wave receiver integrated onto said substrate, said receiver configured to receive a mm-wave signal; and
a second phased array antenna system integrated onto said substrate, said second array antenna system electrically coupled to said mm-wave receiver, said second phased array antenna system including two or more antenna elements;
and
one or more dielectric lenses operatively coupled to at least a selected one of said first phased array antenna system and said second phased array antenna system to improve the transmission or the reception of mm-waves from or by the respective phased array antenna system;
wherein all of the mm-wave circuitry is integrated onto said substrate, thereby eliminating a need to couple mm-wave signals off said substrate;
coupling a transmitter signal from a transmitter output to a receiver input; and
testing the integrated receiver transmitter system on one or more substrates by varying a baseband input to the transmitter and observing a baseband receiver output.
30. The method of claim 29 further comprising the step of calibrating a plurality of phase shifters to account for fixed phase errors.