A High-Linearity X-Band Four-Element Phased-Array Receiver: CMOS Chip and Packaging

This paper presents the design and chip-on-board packaging of a high-linearity four-element phased-array receiver for 9-10-GHz applications. The phased-array is built using 0.13-μm CMOS with a single-ended design, and it results in a measured gain of 10.1 dB, an input P1dBof - 12.5dBm, an input IP3of -4 dBm, and a noise figure of 3.4 dB at 9.5 GHz. An rms gain error of2with a power consumption of 36 mW per channel from a 1.8-V supply (144-mW total). The phased array is packaged using chip-on-board techniques and the channel-to-channel coupling is determined either by the chip-to-ground inductance or by coupling between the input bond-wires. Measurements and simulations on channel 1 show that, with well isolated input bond-wires, one can obtain <; -31-dB coupling between the channels, and an rms amplitude and phase error of ~0.2 dB and ~1°, respectively, at 9.5 GHz, when the phase of channels 2-4 are changed. To our knowledge, this is the first in-depth study of coupling in a phased-array chip with packaging considerations.