A 44-46-GHz 16-Element SiGe BiCMOS High-Linearity Transmit/Receive Phased Array

This paper presents a 16-element Q-band transmit/receive phased array with high receive linearity and low power consumption. The design is based on the all-RF architecture with passive phase shifters and a 1:16 Wilkinson network. An input from -9 to -10 dBm and a noise figure of 10-11.5 dB at 44-46 GHz is achieved in the receive mode with a power consumption of 0.95 W. In the transmit mode, each channel has an output of P-1dB 3-2 dBm and P-sat of 6-4 dBm at 44-46 GHz with a power consumption of 1.16 W. The design results in a low root mean square (rms) gain error due to a high-resolution variable gain amplifier in each channel. Measurements on multiple channels show near-identical gain and phase response in both the transmit and receive mode due to the use of a symmetrical passive combiner. The measured on-chip coupling is < -40 dB and results in insignificant additional rms and phase error.