A CMOS 22-29GHz Receiver Front-End for UWB Automotive Pulse-Radars

Abstract

The design of a CMOS 22-29 GHz pulse-radar receiver (RX) front-end for ultra-wideband (UWB) automotive radar sensors is presented. Fabricated in a 0.18 mum CMOS process, the 3 mm2 RX chip achieves a conversion gain of 35-38.1 dB, noise figure of 5.5-7.4 dB and input return loss less than -14.5 dB in the 22-29 GHz band. The phase noise of the constituent QVCO is -107 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset from a center frequency of 26.5 GHz. The total dc power dissipation of the RX including LO/output buffers is 131 mW.