Work

A Terahertz Dual-Band Transmitter in 40 nm CMOS for a Wideband Sparse Synthetic Bandwidth Radar

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This paper presents a terahertz (THz) dual-band transmitter for a wideband sparse synthetic bandwidth radar. The transmitter employs an innovative single-path-reuse dual-band architecture. This architecture utilizes a proposed quad-transformer-coupled voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) as an on-chip local oscillator source. It also incorporates an innovative dual-harmonic generator and a dual-band antenna, which work together within the single signal path to generate both the fundamental frequency and its second harmonic, thereby creating the dual bands required for a sparse synthetic bandwidth radar. Fabricated in a TSMC 40 nm CMOS technology, measurement results show that the transmitter achieves a peak equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) of −7.95 dBm in the low-frequency band (121.34∼126.85 GHz) and −7.86 dBm in the high-frequency band (242.68∼253.7 GHz), validating the proposed architecture’s capability to generate dual-band signals simultaneously. The entire chip occupies a compact area of only 0.54 × 0.62 mm2 and consumes 136 mW of DC power.

Source: Electronics

DOI: 10.3390/electronics14224392

Authors: Aguan Hong, Lina Su, Yanjun Wang, Xiang Yi

Institution: South China University of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit Design

Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,896