Dynamic Polarization Control of Two-Dimensional Integrated Phased Arrays

• Published in: IEEE transactions on microwave theory and techniques 2016-04, Vol.64 (4), p.1066-1077
• Main Authors: Safaripour, Amirreza, Bowers, Steven M., Dasgupta, Kaushik, Hajimiri, Ali
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antenna theory and design; beam steering; CMOS integrated circuits; electromagnetic (EM) polarization; EM simulation; integrated radiators; millimeter-wave (mm-wave) integrated circuits; on-chip antennas; Phased arrays; Polarization; Receiving antennas; Transmitters
• ISSN: 0018-9480; 1557-9670
• DOI: 10.1109/TMTT.2016.2530704

Simultaneous two-dimensional (2-D) beam steering and dynamic polarization control (DPC) of the radiated electric field in 2-D phased arrays ensure polarization matching between the transmitter and receiver antennas in both fixed and mobile wireless systems. Polarization matching is maintained regardless of the polarization, orientation, and location of the receiver antenna in space within the 2-D steering range of the transmitter. This work implements a fully integrated 2 × 2 DPC phased-array transmitter in a 32-nm CMOS silicon-on-insulator process, radiating at 122.9 GHz. It achieves a maximum effective isotropic radiated power of +12.3 dBm in the broadside direction and enables polarization angle control of the radiated linear and elliptical polarizations across the full range of 0 ° to 180 ° with tunable axial ratio down to 1.2 dB to achieve circular polarization and the ability to steer the radiated beam up to 15 ° in both dimensions.