94-GHz Mixer Outperforms Predecessors

June 17, 2010

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.