300-GHz-Band Four-Element CMOS-InP Hybrid Phased-Array Transmitter With 36 ^ Steering Range

• Published in: IEEE microwave and wireless technology letters (Print) 2023-04, p.1-4
• Main Authors: Abdo, Ibrahim, Jyo, Teruo, Pander, Adam, Wakita, Hitoshi, Shiratori, Yuta, Muto, Miwa, Hamada, Hiroshi, Nagatani, Munehiko, da Gomez, Carrel, Wang, Chun, Hatano, Kota, Liu, Chenxin, Fadila, Ashbir Aviat, Pang, Jian, Shirane, Atsushi, Okada, Kenichi, Takahashi, Hiroyuki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 300-GHz band; CMOS-InP hybrid; flip-chip-on-chip; Gratings; Heterojunction bipolar transistors; III-V semiconductor materials; Indium phosphide; phased-array transmitter (TX); Power amplifiers; Power generation; Wireless communication; wireless link
• ISSN: 2771-957X
• DOI: 10.1109/LMWT.2023.3267790

This letter presents a 300-GHz-band four-element phased-array transmitter (TX) consisting of two types of chips, CMOS and InP HBT, to achieve a high equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) and wide beam coverage. The CMOS chips include mixers and control circuits for the phased-array operation and the InP HBT chips include 300-GHz-band power amplifiers (PAs) and Antipodal Vivaldi on-chip antennas. The two types of chips are connected in a flip-chip-on-chip fashion to reduce losses. A method utilizing grating lobes is devised to overcome the limited main lobe steering range. The fabricated TX achieves a maximum EIRP of 8.4 dBm with a steering range of 36 ^{\circ} , which is the widest among the 300-GHz-band TXs that can handle a high modulation order. The TX also demonstrates the first-ever wireless data transmission with beam steering in the 300-GHz band and achieves a maximum data rate of 30 Gb/s over a 50-cm distance.