A 94-GHz phase inverter-variable gain amplifier in SiGe BiCMOS

Abstract

Phased array radar systems are capable of steering the beam of radio waves electronically by adjusting the gain and phase of each antenna element as desired. In order to achieve that, each element has to have gain/phase control and these parameters have to be controlled separately. In W-Band designs, constant gain- 360 phase control is di cult to achieve due to parasitic e ects of high frequencies which may quickly di er across di erent settings. Dividing the phase control task into di erent blocks in system eases the design di culties. A well developed WBand technology SiGe BiCMOS is also crucial to achieve high frequencies and system control. In this thesis, a 94-GHz SiGe BiCMOS phase inverter with variable gain ampli- er is developed. Single bit-180 phase inversion enables to use multiple bit-180 phase shifter which is easier to design in W-Band. In addition to that, variable gain ampli er allows to use this circuit in phased array systems for amplitude tapering to achieve desired beam forming.