A Fully Integrated 160Gb/s D-Band Transmitter with 1.1 pJ/b Efficiency in 22nm FinFET Technology

Steven Callender, Amy Whitcombe, Abhishek Agrawal, Ritesh Bhat, Mustafijur Rahman, Chun C. Lee, Peter Sagazio, Georgios C. Dogiamis, Brent Carlton, Mark Chakravorti, Stefano Pellerano, Christopher Hull

20222022 IEEE International Solid- State Circuits Conference (ISSCC)31 citationsDOI

Abstract

Increasing demand for data-rate is pushing wireless links to operate at mm-wave (30 to 100GHz) and subTHz (100 to 300GHz) carrier frequencies, where larger available bandwidth can be leveraged to increase capacity. Novel radio architectures and process scaling are enabling transceiver implementations in low-cost CMOS technologies for commercial applications. Recent publications have demonstrated mm-wave/subTHz transceivers targeting 100+ Gb/s operation with improved efficiencies. Applications range from short/long-range wireless [1] to medium-range links over plastic waveguide [2] with transmitter data-rates up to 140Gb/s and efficiencies of 5 to 10pJ/b. This paper presents a fully integrated D-band transmitter (TX) achieving 160Gb/s at ~ 1 pJ/b efficiency in 22nm FinFET technology. In contrast to many prior works, this performance is achieved while integrating all critical blocks, from bits to RF.

Topics & Concepts

TransmitterTransceiverBandwidth (computing)CMOSWirelessElectrical engineeringElectronic engineeringComputer scienceRadio frequencyTelecommunicationsOptoelectronicsEngineeringPhysicsChannel (broadcasting)Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit DesignAdvancements in PLL and VCO TechnologiesPhotonic and Optical Devices