A complete 24-GHz radar transceiver on a single 2 × 2 mm chip, built in GlobalFoundries' 0.13-µm CMOS process. K-band radar front ends were traditionally made in GaAs. Moving them to standard CMOS lowers the cost, which matters most for radar in consumer electronics and biomedical devices.
I worked on this chip with yearONE LLC, a startup, and was responsible for the transmitter. To keep the cost down, the die goes into a low-cost QFN (quad flat no-lead) package.
- Frequency
- 24 GHz (K-band)
- Process
- GlobalFoundries 0.13-µm CMOS
- Die size
- 2 × 2 mm
- Package
- QFN
- Design tools
- Cadence Virtuoso
My Part: the Transmitter
From oscillator to package pin
01 · SourceLC-tank VCOGenerates the 24-GHz carrier, tuned by an inductor-capacitor resonator.
02 · PhasesPolyphase filterSplits the signal into quadrature phases.
03 · DriveRF buffersBuffer the signal between stages and drive the output.
04 · OutputPackage matching networkMatches the transmitter output to the QFN package.
Layout and Fabrication
Cadence Virtuoso to silicon
The chip was designed in Cadence Virtuoso. Fig. 2 shows the final layout of the full transceiver, and Fig. 1 the fabricated die.
Collaboration with yearONE LLC
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