Millimeter-Wave Reconfigurable Antenna/Amplifier Interfaces (MiRAIN)

毫米波可重构天线/放大器接口 (MiRAIN)

• 批准号: 504796555
• 负责人: Professor Dr.-Ing. Ahmet Ulusoy
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik und Elektronik (IHE)
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 资助国家: 德国
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/504796555?language=en
• 关键词: Millimeter; Wave; Reconfigurable; Antenna; Amplifier

Emerging wireless technologies focus on operational frequencies significantly above the sub-6-GHz frequency bands for higher data rate or for better resolution. Application of antenna arrays is nowadays a commonly accepted approach for these new technologies. However, as the bandwidth demand continues to increase, the interface between the antenna and the active electronics starts to emerge as a bottleneck. It becomes very challenging to cover sufficient bandwidth to support multiple channels, or in some cases even a single channel, while keeping the antenna geometry simple, and the packaging and assembly technology low cost. In MiRAIN, we propose a new approach to design the antenna/amplifier interfaces at millimeter-wave frequencies. We will make use of reverse-saturated SiGe HBT switch topology, featuring a high off-resistance, to create tunable matching networks. The tunable networks will make it possible to adapt an amplifier to switch between multiple frequencies, or to adapt to impedance variations due to the location of the antenna within an array, or during electronic beamsteering. Furthermore, we will develop a new design approach that combines the design of the amplifier core, the re-configurable matching network and the antenna itself, instead of using pre-matched structures. At the end of the project, an array demonstrator will be realized that consists of an antenna array and MiRAIN ICs with an amplifier core, the tunable matching network, a phase shifter and a digital interface. The ICs will also include test ports that will detect the incident and reflected power to and from the antenna. This information will be used to adapt the amplifier the impedance variations. The goal will be to demonstrate electronic beam-steering at multiple frequencies that go beyond the limited bandwidth of simple antenna structures within 25-30 GHz range.

新兴的无线技术侧重于明显高于6 ghz以下频段的工作频率，以获得更高的数据速率或更好的分辨率。天线阵列的应用是目前这些新技术普遍接受的方法。然而，随着带宽需求的不断增加，天线和有源电子设备之间的接口开始成为瓶颈。覆盖足够的带宽以支持多个通道，或者在某些情况下甚至是单个通道，同时保持天线几何形状简单，封装和组装技术成本低，这变得非常具有挑战性。在MiRAIN中，我们提出了一种在毫米波频率下设计天线/放大器接口的新方法。我们将利用具有高关断电阻的反饱和SiGe HBT开关拓扑来创建可调谐的匹配网络。可调谐网络将使调整放大器在多个频率之间切换成为可能，或者适应由于天线在阵列内的位置或在电子波束转向期间产生的阻抗变化。此外，我们将开发一种新的设计方法，将放大器核心的设计、可重新配置的匹配网络和天线本身结合起来，而不是使用预先匹配的结构。在项目结束时，将实现一个阵列演示器，由天线阵列和带有放大器核心的MiRAIN ic、可调谐匹配网络、移相器和数字接口组成。集成电路还将包括测试端口，用于检测入射和来自天线的反射功率。这些信息将用于调整放大器的阻抗变化。目标是在超过25- 30ghz范围内简单天线结构的有限带宽的多个频率上演示电子波束控制。