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On–off switching digitalized W-band SiGe variable gain power amplifier for large-scale phased array

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 January 2025

Jiang-An Han Open the ORCID record for Jiang-An Han [Opens in a new window] ,
Xu Cheng ,
Xian-Hu Luo ,
Liang Zhang ,
Zi-Qiang Yang ,
Bin-Bin Cheng ,
Chang-Xing Lin  and
Xian-Jin Deng
Jiang-An Han*
Affiliation:
Microsystem and Terahertz Research Center, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Sichuan, P.R. China Institute of Electronic Engineering, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Sichuan, P.R. China
Xu Cheng
Affiliation:
Microsystem and Terahertz Research Center, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Sichuan, P.R. China Institute of Electronic Engineering, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Sichuan, P.R. China
Xian-Hu Luo
Affiliation:
Microsystem and Terahertz Research Center, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Sichuan, P.R. China Institute of Electronic Engineering, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Sichuan, P.R. China
Liang Zhang
Affiliation:
Microsystem and Terahertz Research Center, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Sichuan, P.R. China Institute of Electronic Engineering, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Sichuan, P.R. China
Zi-Qiang Yang
Affiliation:
School of Electronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, P.R. China
Bin-Bin Cheng
Affiliation:
Microsystem and Terahertz Research Center, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Sichuan, P.R. China Institute of Electronic Engineering, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Sichuan, P.R. China
Chang-Xing Lin
Affiliation:
Microsystem and Terahertz Research Center, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Sichuan, P.R. China Institute of Electronic Engineering, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Sichuan, P.R. China
Xian-Jin Deng
Affiliation:
Microsystem and Terahertz Research Center, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Sichuan, P.R. China Institute of Electronic Engineering, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Sichuan, P.R. China
*
Corresponding author: Jiang-An Han; Email: hanjiangan_mtrc@caep.cn
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Abstract

In this paper, on–off switching digitization of a W-band variable gain power amplifier (VGPA) with above 60 dB dynamic range is introduced for large-scale phased array. Digitization techniques of on–off switching modified stacking transistors with partition are proposed to optimize configuration of control sub-cells. By the proposed techniques, gain control of a radio frequency variable gain amplifier (VGA) could be highly customized for both coarse and fine switching requirements instead of using additional digital-to-analog converters to tune the overall amplifier bias. The designed VGA in 130 nm SiGe has achieved switchable gain range from −46.4 to 20.6 dB and power range from −25.0 to 15.7 dBm at W band. The chip size of the fabricated VGPA is about 0.31 mm × 0.1 mm.

Keywords

MMICphased arrayRFICVGA
Type
Research Paper
Information
International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies , First View , pp. 1 - 8
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press in association with The European Microwave Association.

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