Miniaturized millimeter-wave dual-band band-pass on-chip filter in 0.13-μm SiGe BiCMOS

Abstract

A design approach for a compact on-chip millimeter wave (mm-wave) dual-passband filter employing hybrid electromagnetic coupling (HEMC) and tunable transmission zeros (TZs) is presented in a 0.13-μm SiGe BiCMOS technology. A dual-mode double-layer series folded resonator with a quarter wavelength has been designed, which reduces the chip area by approximately 40 % compared to a single-mode planar quarter resonator. Additionally, TZs controlled by HEMC are introduced to enhance filter selectivity. A dual-passband filter operating in the W/F-band was realized in the 0.13-μm SiGe (Bi)-CMOS technology, with corresponding fractional bandwidths (FBW) of 15.1 % and 16.2 %, at 94/120 GHz respectively, and the average roll off rate of the filter is greater than 2 dB/GHz. The measured results demonstrate insertion losses below 5.7 dB in both passbands and the compact chip dimension is 626 × 813 μm². When this chip can be placed after the low-noise amplifier in a receiver, the insertion loss has little negative impact on system performance. To our knowledge, this is the first time a 94/120 GHz dual-band BPF in Bi-CMOS technology has been implemented in such a small size. This study presents an alternative design methodology for miniaturizing and streamlining the structure of millimeter-wave dual-passband filters in the SiGe process.