mm-Wave pulse-generation circuits in 65nm CMOS

Abstract

Three mm-wave pulse generation circuits fabricated in a standard 65nm CMOS process are presented. Two versions are based on the cross-coupled NMOS LC-VCO (500um × 300 um), and one is based on the Colpitts VCO (600um × 300 um). No additional buffers are used in the cross-coupled versions, as they are directly loaded by 50 Ohms through a balun. They can produce measured pulses exceeding 8dBm peak output power suitable for impulse radio (IR) systems, and also capable of producing pulses at 6.2pJ/pulse. A drive stage is used in the Colpitts based version to drive 50 Ohm measurement equipment, achieving phase coherent pulses with 8.6pJ/pulse, suitable for pulsed radar applications or IR systems.