Work

A Millimeter-Wave CMOS Down-Conversion Mixer with Transformer-Based Harmonic Suppression

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: In this paper, we present a millimeter-wave CMOS down-conversion mixer designed for 5G cellular communications. The proposed mixer integrates a local oscillator buffer, an RF transconductance (Gm) stage, and a switching stage. A transformer-based harmonic suppression technique and separate RF Gm stage and switching stage are employed to achieve a low noise figure (NF), high conversion gain (CG), and effective harmonic suppression. Intermodulation and gain characteristics are analyzed, demonstrating enhanced harmonic suppression, high gain, and low NF. Implemented in 65 nm CMOS technology, the proposed mixer occupies a core chip area of 0.51 mm2 and consumes a dc power of 7 mW. The implemented design achieves a CG of 6.4 dB, an NF of 6.1 dB, and an output third-order intercept point of 9.0 dBm at an RF frequency of 38.2 GHz. Additionally, harmonic suppression exceeds −26 dBc, highlighting the performance advantages of the proposed architecture.

Source: Electronics

DOI: 10.3390/electronics14050943

Authors: In-Cheol Yoo, Chul-Woo Byeon

Institution: Dankook University

Language: English

Topic: Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit Design

Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,896

Funder: IC Design Education Center