Millimeter wave integrated circuit researches in KAIST

Integrated circuit researches in KAIST in the area of millimeter wave applications are presented, which include wireless communications at 60GHz, UWB radar arrays at 26GHz, and a UWB radar TRX at 79GHz. A low-power and high data-rate fully integrated 60-GHz on-off keying (OOK) transceiver for short-range wireless communication is demonstrated. The transceiver consists of a switch, transmitter, and receiver and uses OOK modulation for a compact and low-power design. Implemented in 90-nm CMOS technology, the transmitter and the receiver consume 31 and 36 mW at 10.7 Gb/s. We also present a coherent ultra-wideband transceivers for a widely separated multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar. A wireless cooperative synchronization method is based on coherency of pulse signals and highly accurate delay estimation. As a different type of radar arrays with the above array, a 26GHz UWB 4-channel radar front-end IC based on timed-array coherent pulsed oscillators is presented. The trigger-signal delay method of the oscillator array with an additional 1-bit RF phase shifter is proposed to achieve a beam forming with wide angular coverage and high angular resolution. Total power consumption of the chip is only ∼ 68 mW mainly in receiver and digital blocks. At the end, a radar front-end IC for 79GHz including PA is discussed.