A 6-bit 38 GHz SiGe BiCMOS phase shifter for 5G phased array communications

抄録

This paper presents a 6-bit 38 GHz vector-summing phase shifter developed for 5G phased array communications. A linear gain adjustment VGA with modified gain control method is presented and is used in phase shifter for vectors weighting. Combined with a degenerated-Q quadrature all-pass filter (QAF) for accurate I/Q generation, high phase resolution is achieved with easy control and compact size. Fabricated in 0.13 um SiGe BiCMOS process, the phase shifter has a measured average insertion loss of 5.7 dB at 38 GHz center frequency, with −3 dB bandwidth of 12 GHz. The RMS phase and gain errors are less than 1.7° and 1.5 dB respectively across 20–45 GHz frequency range over 64 phase states. The chip has a compact core size of 373 um × 311 um and it consumes 11.2 mA from 3 V supply.