Broadband Active and Passive Balun Circuits: Functional Blocks for Modern Millimeter-Wave Radio Architectures

Abstract

This paper presents the design and the evaluation of a selection of broadband active and passive baluns. These balanced structures have been developed for future integration in monolithic millimeter-wave transceivers that deliver greater functionality than previously available. The paper presents two compact wideband active balun designs for the range 1 to 16 GHz and 10 to 30 GHz. Two passive baluns are also included, one for IF range 1.5 to 2.5 GHz and the other for the RF range 35 GHz to 45 GHz. The active baluns give a viable alternative to passive baluns within system constraints and a matrix of balun characteristics is presented to clearly indicate the appropriate choice for satisfying transceiver specifications