A Miniaturized 0.13-μm BiCMOS Reflective-Type Phase Shifter for K-Band Phased Arrarys (Invited)

The use of phased array systems, previously limited to official users and the military, has entered new application areas, resulting in greater general use. K-band phased arrays in the civilian satellites help to transmit the wireless data accurately and efficiently to automotive, ships and airplanes. When installed in a ground vehicle, phased arrays offer us a new driving experience by detecting potential road hazards and dangers automatically. The phase shifter is the crucial element to a phased array. A K-band phased-array system normally demands its phase shifter to be of wideband, low insertion loss, low loss variation and high linearity. This paper proposes a reflective-type phase shifter in GLOBALFOUNDRIES 0.13-μm SiGe technology that strikes an excellent and balanced performance. We have applied novel changes onto a conventional Lange coupler and carefully designed the loading network accordingly. The measured results are as follows. The operation frequency range covers almost the entire K-band to accommodate various applications using this frequency band. The phase shifter provides a 180° phase shift range. The insertion loss is limited to the range of 10-dB ± 3-dB. The group delay is less than 70-ps in the entire K-band. The input return loss both at the input and output ports is greater than 10-dB within the entire K-band. The die area excluding the pads is 550-μm × 290-μm.