Institute for Applied Microelectronics

RFIC

RFIC Brochure

Institute for Applied Microelectronics, RFIC

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The Institute for Applied Microelectronics (IUMA) is a center for advanced teaching and research in the field of Microelectronics. The IUMA Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits Group conducts research and design in the field of high performance Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC) for wireless applications: IEEE 802.11a, UWB, DVB, etc.

In the area of integrated RF we develop standard ICs and IPs in CMOS and SiGe BiCMOS technology

achieving highly integrated and powerful cells. The IC production is based on state-of-the-art technologies of commercial semiconductor vendors.

RESEARCH AREAS

RFIC

Front-end architecture design for wireless communications: DVB-H, DVB-SH,

UWB, WiMedia, Bluetooth, IEEE-802.11x, etc.

Design, Layout, and Manufacturing of Low power and low cost RFICs and

RFIC building blocks: Frontends, LNAs, Mixers, VCOs, Filters, Power

Amplifiers, LDO Regulators, Op-AMPs, etc.

MODELING

PCB and Package modeling using 3D EM simulator

Integrated Inductors and Varactors modeling

Design of CAD Tools for RFIC Design Automation

Active Devices modeling for RF frequencies

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FINISHED PROJECTS

INTEGRATED INDUCTORS LIBRARY - 2001 The objective of this project was the development of a integrated inductor library for RF applications.

New parametric integrated inductor model was introduced and automatic tools to assist the designers in selecting and automatically laying-out integrated inductors. The routine was embedded in CADENCE and effectively reduces the time spent in the circuit layout design phase.

MMIC PHASE SWITCH FOR LMDS - 2001 The objective of this project was to assess the feasibility of using a phase shifter developed by the IAC

(Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias) for the design of a circuit modulator MMIC for LMDS.

CMOS FRONT-END FOR A GPS RECEIVER - 2002 The objective of this project was the design of a fully integrated receiver front-end for GPS applications in

a 0.8 SiGe technology.

INTEGRATED VARACTORS LIBRARY - 2002 The objective of this project was the development of a integrated varactor library for RF applications.

New parametric integrated inductor model was introduced and automatic tools to assist the designers in selecting and automatically laying-out integrated varactors. The routine was embedded in CADENCE and effectively reduces the time spent in the circuit layout design phase.

INTEGRATED CIRCUIT DESIGN FOR WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORKS IN THE 5GHZ BAND (CINT5G) - 2003

The objective of this project was to investigate suitable technologies for the realization of integrated transceivers in the 5 GHz band. In this project a Low-IF RF front-end with a polyphase filter to eliminate the image frequency was successfully designed.

MODULATOR PROTOTYPE FOR LMDS/MMDS - 2003 This project was the continuation of the project Phase Switch MMIC for LMDS and extends the

contributions made to the standard MMDS.

RFIC design. UWB frontend from 3.1 to 10,6 GHz in CMOS

technology. RFIC measurement. Mixer for IEEE 802.11a on

wafer measurement.

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Package and Board modeling using 3D Electromagnetic Simulator

DIGITAL TV DVB-H RECEIVER (RECITAL) - 2005 The objective of this project was the realization of a fully integrated terrestrial digital TV DVB-H receiver

for portable devices using a low-cost silicon technology. Given its portability, this project places particular emphasis on the use of low-power techniques.

DESIGN OF A INTEGRATED SYNTHESIZER FOR A IEEE 802.11A RECEIVER - 2005 The objective of this project was the implementation of a synthesizer for a IEEE 802.11a receiver that

operates in the 5GHz band. A fully integrated voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) and the rest of the synthesizer blocks were successfully implemented in a 0.35um low cost technology.

WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES FOR SMALL AREA NETWORKS WITH EMBEDDED SECURITY & SAFETY (WITNESS) - 2005

WITNESS project is part of the EU MEDEA + program and its objective was the development of new techniques for short-range wireless communications and very low power consumption. The consortium consists of institutions of three countries and focuses its research on Bluetooth standards, Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) and ZigBee. Our participation consisted on the development of RF integrated circuits for UWB transceivers (802.15.3a).

PFD CHARGEPUMP FILTER

÷2 FAST DIVIDER90º SHIFTER÷4/5÷58−106

÷5RESET

RESET

N=NP·P+A

fref=2 MHzfout

fout/2fdiv

fout2

VCO

PROGRAMMABLE DIVIDER

0º

fout2

90º

948-1724 MHz

474-862 MHz

P/P+1NP

A

UP

DOWNICP VTUNE

Phase noise measurement of a VCO for DVB. Synthesizer for DVB-H (474 - 862 MHz).

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Gain measurement for a wideband low noise amplifier for

UWB. Low noise amplifiers for UWB (3.1.-10.6 GHz) in BiCMOS

technology.

NOISE TOLERANT RFIC DESIGN FOR COMMUNICATIONS FREQUENCIES ABOVE 5GHZ - 2005 The objective of this project was the study of the issues (in particular, noise couplings through the

substrate) related to the design of wireless communication systems with low-cost technologies using frequencies up to 5 GHz. The ultimate goal was the optimization of integrated receiver blocks through the use of techniques for substrate noise rejection.

IC DESIGN FOR A FINGERPRINT SENSOR FOR USE IN MOBILE DEVICES - 2007 The objective of this project was the design of an IC for a fingerprint sensor to be used in mobile devices.

DESIGN OF A LDO REGULATOR FOR MOBILE DEVICES - 2007 The objective of this project was the design of a LDO Regulator to be used in mobile devices.

SATELLITE DIGITAL TV DVB-SH RECEIVER (RECITAL+) - 2008 The objective of this project was the realization of a fully integrated satellite digital TV DVB-SH receiver

for portable devices using a low-cost silicon technology. Given its portability, this project places particular emphasis on the use of low-power techniques.

LNA

I / Q mixers PMAs LPFs VGA2

090 PLL

VGA1

channel filters

antennaRF filter

ADC

DSP

System Design Level. DVB-SH Receiver (2.17-2.2 GHz).

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Inductor modeling. Automatic generation tool for Cadence in Skill Language

SHORT RANGE RADIO (SR2) (MEDEA+) - 2008 This project was the continuation of the project WITNESS and extends the contributions made to the

standard UBW.

STUDY ON STABILITY OF THE INTEGRATED CIRCUIT AS3991 POWER AMPLIFIER- 2010 In this project the stability of the AS3991 Power Amplifier (Austria Mikro Systeme) for RFID was studied. PCB and QFN64 package modeling was done and on-chip solution for PA instability was also carried out.

Mixed signal IC design. Schematic and simulation of a driver for capacitive fingerprint sensor.

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EQUIPMENT

• Cascade Summit 9100 Probe Station (on Wafer Measurement) • Agilent VNA 20GHz (8720ES) • Agilent Spectrum Analyzer 26GHz (E4446) with PN measurement personality • Noise Generator (346C) • 2 ESG Vector Signal Generator 6 and 20 GHz with wireless LAN modulation capabilities • Agilent B1500A Semiconductor Device Analyzer • Base band generators (33220A) • Low Noise System Power Supply (6627A) • TPT Manual Bonding Machine

TECHNOLOGIES

• UMC • TSMC • ST Microelectronics • Austria Microsystems (AMS) • AMI Semiconductor • etc.

SOFTWARE - TOOLS

• Agilent ADS & IC-CAP • Altera • ARM • Cadence • Coventor • CoWare • Idass • Matlab • Mentor • Synopsys • System Tools • Xilinx

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CONTACT

Institute for Applied Microelectronics, RFIC Prof. Dr.- Javier del Pino Suárez Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 35017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain Phone +34 928 458 046 Fax +34 928 451 243 jpino@iuma.ulpgc.es www.iuma.ulpgc.es/users/rfic