• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.401-410
• /
• 2017

In this work, we show that the excessive lattice heating problem due to parasitic pnp transistor action in the diode electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device in the diode input protection circuit, which is favorably used in CMOS RF ICs, can be solved by adopting a symmetrical cathode structure. To explain how the recipe works, we construct an equivalent circuit for input human-body model (HBM) test environment of a CMOS chip equipped with the diode protection circuit, and execute mixed-mode transient simulations utilizing a 2-dimensional device simulator. We attempt an in-depth comparison study by varying device structures to suggest valuable design guidelines in designing the protection diodes connected to the $V_{DD}$ and $V_{SS}$ buses. Even though this work is based on mixed-mode simulations utilizing device and circuit simulators, the analysis given in this work clearly explain the mechanism involved, which cannot be done by measurements.

• Journal of electromagnetic engineering and science
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.56-62
• /
• 2004

We present a multi-Gbit/s digital I/O interface based on RF-modulation and capacitive-coupling over an impedance matched transmission line. The RF-interconnect(RFI) can greatly reduce the digital switching noise and eliminate the dc power dissipation over the channel. It also enables reduced signal amplitude(as low as 200 ㎷) with enhanced data rate and affordable circuit overhead. This paper addresses the system advantages and implementation issues of RFI. A prototype on-chip RFI transceiver is implemented in 0.18-${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ CMOS. It demonstrates a maximum data rate of 2.2 Gbit/s via 10.5-㎓ RF-modulation. The RFI can be very instrumental for future high-speed inter- and intra-ULSI data links.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.99-104
• /
• 2013

In this paper, we developed a fully integrated downconverter MMIC (monolithic microwave integrated circuit) including Lange coupler and output active balun for millimeter wave applications. Concretely, ${\lambda}$/4 transmission line was added to Lange coupler for size reduction of RF/LO input, and mixed RF/LO signals were applied to gate of the FET of mixer. Active balun was used at output port for a coupling of out-of-phase IF output signals. According to measured results, the proposed downconverter MMIC showed good RF performances. For example, the downconverter MMIC showed an LO leakage power of -25 dBc at IF output port, and a RF-LO isolation of 18 dB. Therefore, off-chip components such as LO rejection filters were not required for a normal operation of the proposed downconverter MMIC. The proposed downconverter MMIC showed a conversion gain of 10.3 dB at RF frequency of 63 GHz. The size of the downconverter MMIC including all active and passive components was $2.2{\times}1.4mm^2$.

• Journal of Computing Science and Engineering
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.129-136
• /
• 2014

This paper presents the equivalent circuit modelling and eigenfrequency analysis of a wideband robust capacitive radio frequency (RF) microelectromechanical system (MEMS) switch that was designed using Poly-Si and Au layer membrane for highly reliable switching operation. The circuit characterization includes the extraction of resistance, inductance, on and off state capacitance, and Q-factor. The first six eigenfrequencies are analyzed using a finite element modeler, and the equivalent modes are demonstrated. The switch is optimized for millimeter wave frequencies, which indicate excellent RF performance with isolation of more than 55 dB and a low insertion loss of 0.1 dB in the V-band. The designed switch actuates at 13.2 V. The R, L, C and Q-factor are simulated using Y-matrix data over a frequency sweep of 20-100 GHz. The proposed switch has various applications in satellite communication networks and can also be used for devices that will incorporate the upcoming IEEE Wi-Fi 802.11ad protocol.

• Proceedings of the IEEK Conference
• /
• 2001.06a
• /
• pp.413-416
• /
• 2001

In high frequency range, RF circuit design without considering shielding effect can cause several significant changes due to increase in parasitic capacitance and inductance between RF signal lines and shielding box. In this paper, bandpass filter has been made to measure the shielding effect and its s-parameter has been measured by Vector Network Analyzer (VNA). Equivalent circuit model including the shielding effect has been constructed with the lumped elements extracted from the 3D electromagnetic simulator, Maxwell SI. Then, the validity of the model is verified using microwave circuit simulator, ADS (Advanced Design System).

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.239-244
• /
• 2004

In this paper, we have developed a frequency mixer which can be used as a microwave phase conjugator in the LS band retrodirective antenna system. The mixer as a phase conjugator must have an If signal of which frequency is nearly as high as that of an RF signal, so this fact brings difficulty in the combination of input signals and the design of impedance matching circuit. The circuit configuration is chosen to be of the gate mixer using a pseudomorphic HEMT device. The operating frequencies are 4.00 ㎓, 2.01 ㎓, and 1.99 ㎓ for LO, RF, and IF, respectively. Conversion gain is measured to be 12.5 ㏈ and 1 ㏈ compression point -34 ㏈m at the LO power of -7 ㏈m. The mixer fabricated in this research is the single-ended type, where RF leakage signal appears inevitably at the If port because RF and If frequencies are almost the same. The circuit topology suggested here can be applied directly to the design of balanced-type mixers and phase conjugators.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
• /
• v.19 no.8
• /
• pp.837-843
• /
• 2008

This paper proposes a power divider based on meta-material structure with dual-band operation. The meta-material structures of left-hand characteristic are constituted of series capacitors and shunt inductors, but they have parasitic series inductance and shunt capacitance effects. There is represented the composite right/ left-handed transmission line (CRLH-TL) model. When the power divider is implemented by using the CRLH-TL, the power divider can operate dual band. To verify the power divider with dual band, we are implemented to operate dual-band that is 0.88 GHz and 1.67 GHz. The characteristics of divider have the return loss less than each 21.0 dB and 15.8 dB and the insertion loss better than 3.83 dB and 3.64 dB at each frequency. Also, the output phase difference is $3{\sim}6^{\circ}$.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
• /
• 2003.11b
• /
• pp.35-42
• /
• 2003

We have studied DC energy conversion of RF card by wireless communication. In order to attain an objective, it used the system which is a Rectenna. The main purpose of energy conversion system is the operation of the circuits at RF-ID system. The proposed RF-ID system is a lot classified with the reader and tag. Reader is a kind of the base station role supporting RF energy. And priority tag convert RF energy from the reader it was delivered with a wireless to DC energy. The energy which is converted like Tag. It transmits to the reader characteristic ID of each card. The tag is mainly divided into rectifier, power module, memory and controller. The FRAM maintains the data like a ROM in no-power situation. And the advantage is a low power element compared with other EEPROM. There are two considerations, when RF energy is converted into DC source by wireless. One is energy amount supported from the reader, the other is high power efficiency. This paper presents a study of simulation and experiments on the RF-DC conversion circuit in tag by the power efficiency concentrated.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
• /
• 1999.07g
• /
• pp.3064-3066
• /
• 1999

The existing equipment with wire communication can expect the stability of data transmission. However, according to increasing a number of DTE (Data Terminal Equipment), wiring work becomes a heavy burden. Restriction to application about portable DTE and the lack of flexibility are another drawback of wire communication. This paper presents the design and implementation of a RF (Radio Frequency) based wireless communication system. The RF based module is designed to the multi communication between DTEs. The RF based module consists of RF circuit and microprocessor. The main properties of RF circuit are maximum 5Kbps transmission rate, maximum 90m transmission distance and 433MHz frequency band. The microprocessor rearrange the data into AHDLC(Advanced High level Data Link Control) format and then instructs RF circuits to transmit/receive the data. The RF module have a wide application field such as fire/security alarm, remote control/measurement etc..

• ETRI Journal
• /
• v.27 no.5
• /
• pp.569-578
• /
• 2005

The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation of monolithically matching circuits, interface circuits, and RF core circuits to the same substrate. We designed and fabricated on-chip 1 to 6 GHz up-conversion and 1 to 8 GHz down-conversion mixers using a 0.8 mm SiGe hetero-junction bipolar transistor (HBT) process technology. To fabricate a SiGe HBT, we used a reduced pressure chemical vapor deposition (RPCVD) system to grow a base epitaxial layer, and we adopted local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) isolation to separate the device terminals. An up-conversion mixer was implemented on-chip using an intermediate frequency (IF) matching circuit, local oscillator (LO)/radio frequency (RF) wideband matching circuits, LO/IF input balun circuits, and an RF output balun circuit. The measured results of the fabricated up-conversion mixer show a positive power conversion gain from 1 to 6 GHz and a bandwidth of about 4.5 GHz. Also, the down-conversion mixer was implemented on-chip using LO/RF wideband matching circuits, LO/RF input balun circuits, and an IF output balun circuit. The measured results of the fabricated down-conversion mixer show a positive power conversion gain from 1 to 8 GHz and a bandwidth of about 4.5 GHz.