Simplified Architecture of 5G Millimeter-wave Retrodirective Array and Its Implementation in CMOS Chips

GUO Jiacheng; HU Sanming; SHEN Yizhu; QIAN Yun; HU Chuyou; HUANG Yongming; YOU Xiaohu

doi:10.11999/JEIT240143

Volume 46 Issue 5

May 2024

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Article Navigation > Journal of Electronics & Information Technology > 2024 > 46(5): 1570-1581

GUO Jiacheng, HU Sanming, SHEN Yizhu, QIAN Yun, HU Chuyou, HUANG Yongming, YOU Xiaohu. Simplified Architecture of 5G Millimeter-wave Retrodirective Array and Its Implementation in CMOS Chips[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology, 2024, 46(5): 1570-1581. doi: 10.11999/JEIT240143

Citation:

GUO Jiacheng, HU Sanming, SHEN Yizhu, QIAN Yun, HU Chuyou, HUANG Yongming, YOU Xiaohu. Simplified Architecture of 5G Millimeter-wave Retrodirective Array and Its Implementation in CMOS Chips[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology, 2024, 46(5): 1570-1581. doi: 10.11999/JEIT240143

Citation:

GUO Jiacheng, HU Sanming, SHEN Yizhu, QIAN Yun, HU Chuyou, HUANG Yongming, YOU Xiaohu. Simplified Architecture of 5G Millimeter-wave Retrodirective Array and Its Implementation in CMOS Chips[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology, 2024, 46(5): 1570-1581. doi: 10.11999/JEIT240143

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Simplified Architecture of 5G Millimeter-wave Retrodirective Array and Its Implementation in CMOS Chips

doi: 10.11999/JEIT240143

GUO Jiacheng^{1, 2},
HU Sanming^{1, 2},
SHEN Yizhu^{1, 2},
QIAN Yun¹,
HU Chuyou¹,
HUANG Yongming^{1, 2},
YOU Xiaohu^{1, 2
,
,}

1.
School of Information Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
2.
Purple Mountain Laboratories, Nanjing 211111, China

Funds: The National Key Research and Development Program of China (2019YFB2204701), The National Natural Science Foundation of China (61831006, 62250610223)

Received Date: 2024-03-06
Rev Recd Date: 2024-04-29

Available Online: 2024-05-12

Publish Date: 2024-05-30

Abstract

Abstract

For the first time, a simplified architecture for 5G millimeter-wave retrodirective arrays and its implementation in CMOS chips is reported in this paper. Phase conjugation and retrodirective functions are provided by sub-harmonic mixers in the simplified architecture, eliminating the need for phase-shifting circuits and beam-controlling systems, thereby enabling automatic beam tracking for mobile communications. For validation, a domestic 0.18 μm CMOS process is employed to realize a 5G millimeter-wave retrodirective array chip, comprising core modules such as the transceiver front-ends and tracking phase-locked loop. Measured conversion gains of 19.5 dB for transmitting and 18.7 dB for receiving are achieved by the transceiver front-end chip utilizing sub-harmonic mixing and gm-boosting techniques. Dual-mode operation capabilities, supporting both amplitude modulation and phase modulation based on different reference signals, are provided by the implemented tracking phase-locked loop chip, with measured output signal phase noise lower than –125 dBc/Hz@100 kHz. The feasibility of the proposed 5G millimeter-wave retrodirective array communication architecture and its CMOS chip implementation is validated by the test results presented in this paper, thus offering a new solution for 5G/6G millimeter-wave communication characterized by its extremely simplified architecture, low cost, and high scalability.
- Millimeter-wave integrated circuit,
- CMOS,
- Retrodirective array,
- Radio Frequency (RF) front-end

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References(39)

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