Tutorial #1: Implementation considerations for CMOS millimeter wave circuits and systems

The speed improvement of silicon technology has made it possible for realization of millimeter wave circuits in silicon technologies that can support high volume and be sufficiently affordable for consumer applications. This course examines the differences between the millimeter wave versus RF integrated circuit designs in silicon technologies. Following this, the technology scaling of transistors and metalization technology will be reviewed. Transistor models including noise will also be reviewed. Properties of silicon substrates including the frequency dependence of dielectric constant and loss including the plasma effects are examined. The performance of silicon millimeter wave circuits is often limited by the passive components and the approaches to realize inductors, capacitors, varactors, and transmission lines in CMOS and their model and frequency dependence are discussed. Following these, design issues for millimeter wave amplifiers, mixers, oscillator and frequency multiplication circuits will be discussed. Techniques for interfacing on-chip signals to outside such as packaging, package and on-chip antennas, and broadbanding techniques are presented.