MUCH RESEARCH IS FOCUSEDon the 75-to-110-GHz W-band. At 94 GHz, for example, low signal absorption creates an opportunity for applications like frequency-modulated-continuous-wave (FMCW) radar and image sensors. Yet such applications call for the creation of a high-performance device, circuit, and module. A 94-GHz monolithicmicrowave- integrated-circuit (MMIC) mixer module using 0.1-m gate-length metamorphic high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) has been developed by Dan An from Korea's Defense Agency for Technology and Quality with Sung- Chan Kim from Hanbat National University and Jin-Koo Rhee from Dongguk University.
The researchers proposed a modified resistive mixer with an RF amplifier. The mixer module was fabricated using a MMIC chip and coplanar-waveguide (CPW) transitions. At 94 GHz, the mixer chip and module showed conversion loss of 6.3 and 9.5 dB and LO-RF isolation of 24.8 and 30.4 dB, respectively. See "High-Performance W-band MMIC Mixer Module Using GaAs Metamorphic HEMT," Microwave And Optical Technology Letters, April 2010, p. 815.
About the Author
Nancy Friedrich
RF Product Marketing Manager for Aerospace Defense, Keysight Technologies
Nancy Friedrich is RF Product Marketing Manager for Aerospace Defense at Keysight Technologies. Nancy Friedrich started a career in engineering media about two decades ago with a stint editing copy and writing news for Electronic Design. A few years later, she began writing full time as technology editor at Wireless Systems Design. In 2005, Nancy was named editor-in-chief of Microwaves & RF, a position she held (along with other positions as group content head) until 2018. Nancy then moved to a position at UBM, where she was editor-in-chief of Design News and content director for tradeshows including DesignCon, ESC, and the Smart Manufacturing shows.