A Wideband 25-35GHz 5-Bit Low Power 2X2 CMOS Beam Forming Network IC for Reconfigurable Phased Arrays

The first reported reconfigurable wideband mm-wave CMOS based beam forming network IC is demonstrated. The IC consists of two independent inputs and two correlated outputs. Each of the four RF paths has 2 bits amplitude control and 3 bits phase control, as well as a wideband amplifier to maintain RF signal power. The measured RMS amplitude and phase error is less than 0.4dB and 4° respectively. Amplifier power gating is added for low-power modes and calibration. An addressable shift register core (ASRC) to command the beam forming IC is included. The ASRC provides intelligent control of adjacent III-V based chips. The IC is 5mmX5mm and consumes 45mW of DC power.