A Compact 24-32 GHz Linear Upconverting Mixer with -1.5 dBm OP1dB using 0.13-μ SiGe BiCMOS Process

Abstract

This work demonstrates a 24-32 GHz upconverting mixer implemented in SiGe process technology. The mixer uses double-balanced Gilbert cell architecture with on-chip transformer-based baluns for the LO input and RF output ports. With LO power of 6 dBm, the mixer achieves a maximum conversion gain of 13.7 dB at 26.5 GHz, a 24-32 GHz 3-dB bandwidth, IF-bandwidth of 0.25-1.25 GHz on both side-bands with 27 GHz LO frequency and OP1dB of -1.5 dBm at 28 GHz. It occupies an area of $468-\mu {m}\times 465-\mu{m}$ consuming 90 mW from a 2.5 V power supply. The performance is comparable to any state-of-the-art mixers in similar silicon technologies.