A 24–44 GHz Broadband Transmit–Receive Front End in 0.13-μm SiGe BiCMOS for Multistandard 5G Applications

In this article, a novel broadband millimeter-wave (mm-wave) front end (FE) based on the asymmetric switch network structure is proposed for multistandard fifth-generation (5G) applications. The asymmetric switch network consists of a bidirectional impedance transformation network and a T-type topology single-pole single-throw (SPST) switch. In the TX-mode, the bidirectional impedance transformation network serves as an output matching network to achieve a continuous-mode Class-F−1 power amplifier (PA) to expand the bandwidth. In the RX-mode, the OFF impedance of the PA can be transformed into a high-impedance region by the bidirectional impedance transformation network. Based on the proposed structure, a broadband mm-wave front end is implemented in the 0.13- $\mu \text{m}$ SiGe BiCMOS process, which occupies $906\,\,\mu \text{m}\,\,\times 997\,\,\mu \text{m}$ including pads. In the TX-mode, the −1-dB $P_{\mathrm {sat}}$ bandwidth of the FE covers 21–44 GHz with the maximum output power of 18.1–19 dBm and the peak power added efficiency (PAE) of 20.2%–26.8%. In the RX-mode, the FE achieves an 84.6% and −3-dB small-signal gain fractional bandwidth from 20.2 to 49.8 GHz with 38-mW power consumption. It achieves a measured noise figure (NF) of 7.62–11.64 dB over the frequency range of 24–48 GHz. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first FE that covers all the present 5G mm-wave bands without reconfiguration.