Design of a D-Band Variable Gain Amplifier for 6G Communication

Project Description

Variable gain amplifiers (VGAs) are a crucial component in wireless transceivers. They have been substantially used in transmitting mm-Wave phased arrays to control the amplitude weights and reduce the radiation side-lobe levels, and have been also used in receiving mm-Wave phased arrays to adopt to different received power levels. In order to comply with the operation of a phased array, a VGA should mainly provide a sufficient dynamic tunable range of gain while exhibiting minimal phase variations across the different gain settings. The D-band, which has a frequency range from 110 to 170 GHz, has recently gained wide research interest for the sixth generation (6G) of wireless communication. The purpose of this project is to design a D-band phased-array compliant VGA in 22nm CMOS technology. The implemented VGA should provide a gain tuning range > 10 dB with a linear (in dB) step size of 1 dB.

Requirements

Analog Integrated Circuits
Communication Circuits
Electromagnetic Simulation Experience

Project components

20% Literature Survey
10% Familiarization of 22nm Process
35% Schematic Design
35% Layout and Electromagnetic Simulations

Contact

Basem Abdelaziz : babdelaziz [at] ethz.ch
Prof. Dr. Hua Wang : hua.wang [at] iis.ee.ethz.ch