A 94GHz 4TX-4RX phased-array for FMCW radar with integrated LO and flip-chip antenna package

Abstract

A prototype phased-array IC with four transmitters, four receivers, and integrated LO generation was designed and fabricated in a 130nm SiGe BiCMOS technology. Including LO phase shifter power consumption, the transmit array consumes 71mW per element with a per-element output power of +6.4dBm at 94GHz. The receiver array consumes 56mW per element, and achieves an RX element noise figure of 12.5dB at 94GHz. Integrated LO generation includes a 47GHz VCO, 2× frequency multiplier, 94GHz LO buffers, and a 32× CML divider chain. The transceiver has been integrated into a flip chip antenna module with four transmit and four receive antennas, and achieves TX and RX beam steering over a scan angle range of ±20°. Including LO and bias overhead power, the array has improved per-element power consumption compared with state-of-the-art 94GHz arrays, consuming only 106mW per TX channel and 91mW per RX channel, while achieving comparable performance and levels of integration.