Design for millimeter-wave applications in silicon technologies

This paper presents the potentialities of advanced BiCMOS and CMOS technologies for millimeter-wave applications. To begin, the target applications in these frequency bands are presented: from automotive cruise control radars to wireless links. Then, a large overview of the technological offer to address these applications is presented: SiGe BiCMOS, nanometer bulk and SOI CMOS technologies. This work focuses both on active and passive devices (BEOL) behavior to suit for design above 20 GHz. The paper continues with a presentation of several solutions for integrated circuits on the presented topic: front-end receiver blocks, transmission blocks and frequency synthesis solutions. An overview of state of the art silicon circuits is given. As a conclusion, perspectives regarding future challenges in terms of system integration and applications are discussed.