Work

The Design of a 140 GHz 28 nm CMOS Vector-Sum Phase Shifter Based on Gilbert Cell and Current-Steering Amplifiers

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This paper presents the design of a 140 GHz vector-sum phase shifter in a 28 nm CMOS process. Two variable-gain amplifiers—Gilbert cell and current-steering amplifiers—are investigated and compared. The Gilbert cell-based phase shifter controls the tail current source in a common-source amplifier. However, this configuration exhibits insufficient gain at D-band frequencies. To address this issue, we designed a current-steering variable-gain amplifier in cascode form to improve the gain performance. I/Q signals are generated by Marchand baluns and Lange couplers, and a 13-bit digital-to-analog converter enables fine bias control. Simulation results show that the current-steering phase shifter achieves up to a 4.4 dB higher gain than the Gilbert cell-based phase shifter, with an RMS gain error below 1.3 dB and an RMS phase error below 4.8° across 129–144 GHz.

Source: Chips

DOI: 10.3390/chips4040050

Authors: Junyung Cho, Jung-Hyun Lee, M. Kim

Institution: Korea 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: $1,207

Funders: IC Design Education Center, Iran Telecommunication Research Center, Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea, Institute for Information and Communications Technology Promotion