A low power and high gain double-balanced active mixer with integrated transformer-based Baluns dedicated to 77 GHz automotive radar applications

In this paper, we present a low power and high gain mixer dedicated to 77 GHz automotive radar applications. The architecture is based on a double-balanced active Gilbert cell with integrated transformer-based Baluns. These Baluns allow converting the single-ended input signals to differential with an amplitude and phase imbalance of 0.3 dB and 179°, respectively. Interconnections between devices, capacitor accesses and Tee-junctions are modeled using HFSS simulator in order to improve the simulation accuracy. The proposed mixer consumes 105 mW and achieves 16.4 dB of conversion gain and 13.2 dB of noise figure.