Millimeter-wave monolithic integrated circuit characterization by a picosecond optoelectronic technique

Author

Hung, Hing-Loi A. ; Polak-Dingels, Penny ; Webb, Kevin J. ; Smith, Thane ; Huang, Ho C. ; Lee, Chi H.

Author_Institution

COMSAT Labs., Clarksburg, MD, USA

Volume

37

Issue

8

fYear

1989

fDate

8/1/1989 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1223

Lastpage

1231

Abstract

The characterization of microwave and millimeter-wave monolithic integrated circuits (MIMICs) using picosecond pulse-sampling techniques is developed with emphasis on improving broadband coverage and measurement accuracy. GaAs photoconductive switches are used for signal generation and sampling operations. The measured time-domain response allows the spectral transfer function of the MIMIC to be obtained. This measurement technique is verified by characterization of the frequency response (magnitude and phase) of a reference 50-Ω microstrip line and a two-stage K_a-band MIMIC amplifier. The measured broadband results agree with those obtained from conventional frequency-domain measurements using a network analyzer. The application of this optical technique to on-wafer MIMIC characterization is described

Keywords

MMIC; frequency response; integrated circuit testing; microwave amplifiers; microwave measurement; GaAs photoconductive switches; K_a-band; MIMICs; broadband coverage; frequency response; frequency-domain measurements; measurement accuracy; microstrip line; millimeter-wave monolithic integrated circuits; picosecond optoelectronic technique; pulse-sampling techniques; sampling operations; signal generation; spectral transfer function; time-domain response; Frequency measurement; Gallium arsenide; Integrated circuit measurements; MIMICs; Microwave measurements; Microwave theory and techniques; Millimeter wave measurements; Photoconductivity; Pulse circuits; Pulse measurements;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9480

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/22.31083

Filename

31083