A 0.6–4.0 GHz RF-Resampling Beamforming Receiver with Frequency-Scaling True-Time-Delays up to Three Carrier Cycles

Kalle Spoof*, Mahwish Zahra, Vishnu Unnikrishnan, Kari Stadius, Marko Kosunen, Jussi Ryynänen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)
193 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

True-time-delays (TTDs) enable wideband analog and hybrid beamforming by mitigating the beam squint problem. This letter reports a TTD beamforming receiver supporting delays up to three carrier-frequency cycles. The implementation is the first published work in which the delays scale with the carrier frequency. The scaling enables TTDs for large arrays at low-GHz frequencies where long delays are required due to \lambda _{c}/2 antenna spacing. The delays are implemented through delayed resampling of a passive mixer's discrete-time output. Driving the mixers with pulse-skipped local oscillator (LO) signals allows the delay range to exceed one carrier cycle. A polyphase receiver structure prevents aliasing of noise and unwanted tones caused by LO pulse-skipping. Our prototype implementation demonstrates squint-free beamforming for an-800 MHz instantaneous RF bandwidth. The proposed TTD is efficient for large arrays since the power consumption per antenna is only 5-13-mW across the 0.6-4.0-GHz frequency range. The prototype was implemented in 28-nm FD-SOI CMOS, and the die area including bonding pads is only 1.2 mm2.

Original languageEnglish
Article number9152038
Pages (from-to)234 - 237
Number of pages4
JournalIEEE Solid State Circuits Letters
Volume3
Early online date2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Keywords

  • Analog beamforming
  • beam squint
  • CMOS
  • hybrid beamforming
  • phased array
  • radio receiver
  • resampling
  • RF sampling
  • spatial filtering
  • true-time-delay

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A 0.6–4.0 GHz RF-Resampling Beamforming Receiver with Frequency-Scaling True-Time-Delays up to Three Carrier Cycles'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this