A 10 Gbps Continuous-Time Linear Equalizer for mm-Wave Dielectric Waveguide Communication

The data rate-times-distance product in mm-wave dielectric waveguide communication links is usually limited by waveguide dispersion. This paper presents the dielectric waveguide’s baseband impulse response in the context of a homodyne receiver, and introduces a continuous-time linear equalizer able to minimize such dispersion. The desired transfer function is implemented with inverter-based transconductance cells. Simulation and measurement results at 10 Gbps data rate show eye-opening improvement at two distances (10 m and 15 m) and carrier frequencies (140 GHz and 160 GHz). The equalizer occupies 80 x 32 μm in GLOBALFOUNDRIES 22 nm FD-SOI.