BCTM 2006

Advanced bipolar technologies still enjoy their niches in the design of power amplifiers (for both Si and III-V based technologies) and in the burgeoning and exciting market of Si-based millimeter-wave (mm-Wave) ICs. Recent advances in SiGe device technologies have enabled highly-integrated products to extend their performance into the mm-Wave frequencies. For this course, we are fortunate to have three expert speakers in these areas that will provide tutorials on the latest developments and breakthroughs in bipolar-based power amplifier design beyond handsets and into millimeter-wave IC (MMIC), and on the general area of SiGe BiCMOS transceivers design for mm-Wave applications. On the SiGe MMIC design, we have invited experts to discuss their respective state-of-the-art design approach and the challenges they faced in several new mm-Wave applications. We hope to see you in class to learn from these experts together!

Bipolar-based Power Amplifier Design Beyond Handsets and into MMIC: Design, Modeling, Characterization, Packaging, Reliability

Instructor: Prof. Larry Larson, UCSD

Power amplifiers represent one area where bipolar technology retains a significant and long-term advantage over FET-based technologies (in both silicon and GaAs technologies). This tutorial discusses the design, modeling, characterization and reliability of BJT and HBT power amplifiers - primarily at the handset and WLAN level. Fundamental device considerations will be presented along with new circuit design approaches for high efficiency and linearity. The performance advantages of "intelligent" power amplifier design will be discussed, and the long term evolution of bipolar PA technology will be considered in the light of the increasing level of integration characteristic of the wireless industry.

Larry Larson received the BS degree from Cornell University and the PhD degree from UCLA. From 1980 to 1996 he was at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, CA, where he directed the development of high-frequency microelectronics in GaAs, InP and Si/SiGe and MEMS technologies. He joined the faculty at the University of California -San Diego in 1996, where he is the inaugural holder of the Communications Industry Chair. He was Director of the UCSD Center for Wireless Communications from 2001-2006. He is currently Chair of the ECE Department at UCSD. During the 2000-2001 academic year, he was on leave at IBM Research in San Diego, CA, where he directed the development of RFICs for 3G applications. During the 2004-2005 academic year, he was a visiting Professor at TU Delft, Netherlands. He was recipient of the 1995 Hughes Electronics Sector Patent Award for his work on RF MEMs, co-recipient of the 1996 Lawrence A. Hyland Patent Award of Hughes Electronics, for his work on low-noise millimeter wave HEMTs, and the 1999 IBM Microelectronics Excellence Award for his work in Si/SiGe HBT technology, and the 2003 Custom Integrated Circuits Conference Best Invited Paper Award. He has published over 250 papers, co-authored three books, received 31 US patents, and is a Fellow of the IEEE.

SiGe BiCMOS Transceivers for millimeter-wave

Instructor: Brian Floyd, IBM

The increasing capabilities of silicon technology is now making it possible to develop low-cost, high-performance millimeter-wave solutions for applications such as high-speed wireless communications at 60GHz, vehicular radars at 77GHz, and mmWave imagers at 94GHz. This course highlights 60 GHz circuits and systems developed at IBM Research using SiGe BiCMOS technology, capable of multi Gbps wireless communications. The following topics will be covered: mmWave fundamentals and design methodology; silicon technology options for mmWave; system-level requirements for 60-GHz radios, circuit-level building blocks, including low-noise amplifiers, mixers, and frequency synthesizers; a 60-GHz transmitter and receiver chipset; antennas, packages, and link experiments; and phased-array techniques.

Brian A. Floyd received the B.S. with highest honors, M. Eng., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Florida in 1996, 1998, and 2001, respectively. While at the University of Florida, he held the Intersil/Semiconductor Research Corporation Graduate Fellowship and the Pittman Fellowship, working on CMOS RFIC design for on-chip wireless clock distribution. During the summers of 1994, 1995, and 1996, he worked for Motorola in the areas of RF product development and IC design. In 2001, he joined IBM and is presently a research staff member at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York. His work at IBM has included the design and development of SiGe and CMOS WCDMA receivers, high-speed wired building blocks, frequency synthesizers, and silicon millimeter-wave transceivers for applications at 60 GHz and above. Dr. Floyd has authored or co-authored over 50 technical papers and is a member of the technical program committee of the RFIC Symposium. He was a phase-one winner and phase-two first runner-up of the 2000 SRC Copper Design Challenge, and is a two-time recipient of the IEEE Lewis Winner award for best paper at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), in 2004 and 2006.

mm-Wave SiGe BiCMOS Circuit Design for Automotive Application

Instructor: Dr. Herbert Knapp, Infineon

Automotive radar is finding increasing interest for safety applications and SiGe technologies can play a key role for reducing the cost of these systems. The tutorial will start with an overview of radar principles used for short- and long-range automotive radar and the resulting specifications for transmitter and receiver circuits. Next, the requirements for active and passive devices in SiGe processes will be discussed, focusing on applications in the 77 / 79 GHz frequency band. Circuit design aspects of all key building blocks, including voltage-controlled oscillators, frequency dividers, power amplifiers, and mixers will be discussed and typical examples will be shown.

Herbert Knapp received the Dipl. Ing. and Ph. D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University Vienna, Austria, in 1997 and 2000, respectively. He joined Siemens, Corporate Technology, Munich, Germany, in 1993, where he was engaged in the design of integrated circuits for wireless communications. From 2000 to 2005 he was with Infineon Technologies, Corporate Research. His research interests included the design of high-speed digital and analog circuits in CMOS and SiGe technologies. He is now with Infineon Technologies, AIM (Automotive, Industrial & Multimarket) in Munich, Germany, where he is working on the design of integrated circuits for automotive radar applications.

BCTM Short Course Schedule

"Bipolar IC Design Beyond Handsets and into Millimeter Waves: Challenges and Opportunities for Power Amplifier and mm-Wave Transceiver IC Design"

Date: Sunday, September 30, 2007

Time: 8:00 AM - 5:15 PM

Location: Grand Ballroom

8:00-8:15 Welcome, Donald Lie / Sorin Voinigescu

8:15-9:15 Bipolar-based power amplifier design beyond handsets and into MMICs: Design, Modeling, Characterization, Packaging, Reliability

Prof. Larry Larson, UCSD

9:15-9:40 Break

9:40-10:40 Bipolar-based power amplifier design beyond handsets and into MMICs: Design, Modeling, Characterization, Packaging, Reliability (continued)

10:40-11:00 Break

11:00-12:00 SiGe BiCMOS Transcievers for millimeter-wave

Dr. Brian Floyd, IBM

12:00-1:15 Lunch – Grand Ballroom

1:15-2:15 SiGe BiCMOS Transcievers for millimeter-wave (continued)

2:15-2:45 Break

2:45-3:45 Millimeter-wave SiGe BiCMOS Circuit Design for Automotive Applications

Dr. Herbert Knapp, Infineon

3:45-4:00 Break

4:00-5:00 Millimeter-wave SiGe BiCMOS Circuit Design for Automotive Applications (continued)

5:00-5:15 Course Evaluation