FM Noise and Synchronization Behavior of a SIMMWIC 76.5 GHz Front-End

Abstract

SIMMWIC’s (Silicon Monolithic Millimeter Wave Integrated Circuit) have gained increasing interest as receivers and transmitters in the millimeter wave region. They provide new solutions for near-range sensor and communication applications in the frequency range above 50 GHz. Particular advantages are the capability of very easy monolithic integration of a complete radiating oscillator, a high degree of technological reproducibility, small size and, thus, low cost¹. A typical millimeter wave front-end consists of an IMPATT diode integrated in a planar resonator. This resonator acts simultaneously as an antenna resulting in an active antenna configuration. Due to the low q-factor of the resonator, for some applications, like FM-CW-radar, the frequency stability and the phase noise behavior of the front-end are insufficient. Using a phase-locked-loop is a practicable way to stabilize the oscillation frequency and suppress the phase noise. However, many millimeter wave components such as frequency dividers, voltage controlled oscillators (VCO’s) and phase/frequency comparators are required resulting in an expensive and complex multichip system.