A Compact Bidirectional Amplifier with 207~215 GHz Operating Bandwidth Based on SiGe Process

The receiving and transmitting modes of symmetrical bidirectional amplifiers adopt the same amplifier core, which can reduce the complexity of matching network structure and reduce the chip area. In order to further reduce the area of the symmetrical bidirectional amplifier chip, this paper proposed a bidirectional matching technology which integrates the parasitic parameters of transistors under different working states, and explored the relationship between the node impedance variation of silicon-based transistors and the impedance of matching circuits under different bias states. Based on the Leibniz Institute for High Performance Microelectronics (IHP) 0.13 μm SiGe BiCMOS process, a 207~215 GHz high-gain, non-switching symmetrical bidirectional amplifier was designed. By switching the circuit bias, the amplifier realizes the purpose of eliminating the single-pole double-throw switch in the communication system. In this paper, the mirror symmetry of the chip layout was optimized to ensure the consistency of the forward and reverse energy of the amplifier. Full-wave electromagnetic simulation and circuit simulation results show that, in the working frequency band, the maximum gain of each channel of the bidirectional amplifier is 28.6 dB; the minimum noise figure is 16 dB; the minimum values of input and output reflection coefficients S₁₁ and S₂₂ of the bidirectional matching network are -13.6 dB, -15.5 dB respectively; the power consumption of the chip is 63 mW, and the core area is only 0.17 mm². It shows that the bidirectional matching network can achieve excellent input, output and noise matching effect while saving chip area. The switchless silicon bidirectional amplifier designed in this paper can achieve the operating frequency of more than 200 GHz, and has the characteristics of high gain and compact area. The bidirectional amplifier greatly reduces the chip area and the cost of RF front-end, and can be applied to terahertz microsystems.