A 90-100 GHz Vector Modulator 7-Bit Phase Shifter with Voltage Summation Topology

A digitally controlled W-band vector modulator (VM) frontend is presented. The digital interface consists of six 8-bit digital-to-analog converters (DAC) and all the required CMOS logic. The VM utilizes a voltage combiner to generate the desired IQ signal that dramatically reduces the parasitic effects associated with mm-Wave VMs. The 65-nm CMOS frontend achieves 7-bit phase resolution with an RMS phase error <2° and <0.4 dB RMS gain error in the 95–97 GHz range and a 6-bit phase resolution with an LSB error operating bandwidth of 9 GHz.