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Greek SME offers BiCMOS Ka-Band (24 - 33GHz) zero-IF transceiver up/down converter for 5G, SATCOM and Radar applications

Summary

Profile Type
  • Technology offer
POD Reference
TOGR20240926013
Term of Validity
10 October 2024 - 10 October 2025
Company's Country
  • Greece
Type of partnership
  • Investment agreement
  • Commercial agreement with technical assistance
  • Research and development cooperation agreement
Targeted Countries
  • All countries
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General information

Short Summary
A Greek fabless semiconductor company specialised in the design of custom analog, mixed-signal, RF and mmWave integrated circuits has developed a BiCMOS transceiver-up/down converter operating in the Ka-band (24-33 GHz). The silicon-proven IC achieves a superior performance with more functionalities than other products, allowing higher integration, advanced calibration and flexibility. Commercial and research and development cooperation agreements are sought.
Full Description
The company’s silicon-proven transceiver-up/down converter is a highly integrated, mmWave, agile transceiver offering high performance and configurability for target applications in an advanced SiGe BiCMOS process technology. This silicon IP delivers a versatile combination of high performance and low power consumption. The developed design is a direct conversion transceiver, operating at frequencies around 28 GHz. The receiver front-end provides high sensitivity, linearity and wide gain control range distributed throughout the RF chain, providing much room for calibration and optimization. The transmitter front-end exhibits direct upconverter, variable gain driving amplifier and wide gain control range. An integrated power detector is also implemented for external monitoring and control of transmitted power. Both transmitter and receiver include LO leakage compensation circuitry that can minimize LO leakage and DC offsets, respectively. The LO signal at the input is expected to cover the range 8-11 GHz and then multiplied internally to the carrier frequency. The baseband part of the transceiver consists of two (I/Q channel) fully differential low pass filters with adjustable cut-off and flexible calibration scheme.
The schematic and manufacturing (GDS-ready) files are available, as is the manufactured silicon, as a stand-alone chip-scale packaged BGA component ready to be integrated into PCBs. The transceiver size is 2:7 x 2:7 mm2 and has been packaged in a 34-ball chip scale package (CSP). The designs can be ported to other technology nodes and can be modified to address client requirements. Full datasheet is available upon request. Evaluation boards with a GUI are also available.
Advantages and Innovations
Advantages of the developed solution:
- The single chip replaces a multichip solution, where RX and TX channels, as well as the TDD switch are separate components. It therefore reduces power consumption, PCB area, and component count.
- The developed solution has been realized in an advanced SiGe BiCMOS process for high performance.
- The design consumes less power that other mainstream solutions.
- Bias currents in critical blocks can be digitally trimmed and filter cut-off frequency can also be controlled to facilitate system calibration.
- LO leakage compensation.

Innovative aspects of the solution:
- A compact, low power solution for mmWave applications.
- Supports TRX operation in TDD mode.
- Minimizes component count, maximizing performance, reducing cost and system size.

In addition to the above, the developed solution can be combined with other IPs of the company either in a PCB level, by combining several of the company’s manufactured silicon solutions, or in the form of GDS files for future tape-outs, to form a complete radio system in the 24-31 GHz band.
Stage of Development
  • Already on the market
Sustainable Development Goals
  • Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
IPR status
  • Secret know-how

Partner Sought

Expected Role of a Partner
Advantages of the developed solution:
- The single chip replaces a multichip solution, where RX and TX channels, as well as the TDD switch are separate components. It therefore reduces power consumption, PCB area, and component count.
- The developed solution has been realized in an advanced SiGe BiCMOS process for high performance.
- The design consumes less power that other mainstream solutions.
- Bias currents in critical blocks can be digitally trimmed and filter cut-off frequency can also be controlled to facilitate system calibration.
- LO leakage compensation.

Innovative aspects of the solution:
- A compact, low power solution for mmWave applications.
- Supports TRX operation in TDD mode.
- Minimizes component count, maximizing performance, reducing cost and system size.

In addition to the above, the developed solution can be combined with other IPs of the company either in a PCB level, by combining several of the company’s manufactured silicon solutions, or in the form of GDS files for future tape-outs, to form a complete radio system in the 24-31 GHz band.
Type and Size of Partner
  • SME 11-49
  • SME <=10
  • SME 50 - 249
  • R&D Institution
  • Big company
Type of partnership
  • Investment agreement
  • Commercial agreement with technical assistance
  • Research and development cooperation agreement

Dissemination

Technology keywords
  • 01002001 - Micro and Nanotechnology related to Electronics and Microelectronics
  • 01003025 - Internet of Things
  • 09001009 - Sensor Technology related to measurements
  • 01003014 - Internet Technologies/Communication (Wireless, Bluetooth)
  • 09003 - Electronic measurement systems
Market keywords
  • 03001001 - Semiconductors
  • 01004002 - Data communication components
  • 01006002 - Mobile communications, pagers and cellular radio
  • 02007005 - Communications/networking
  • 03001007 - Circuit boards
Sector Groups Involved
  • Aerospace and Defence
  • Electronics
  • Mobility - Transport - Automotive
  • Digital
Targeted countries
  • All countries

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