Pushing the Performance Boundaries of MmWave and Sub-THz Transceiver Circuits Through Passive Network Design Innovations

Passive networks play a crucial role in mmWave and sub-THz transceiver circuit design. Their design innovations can significantly enhance circuit performance and even enable new hardware functionalities that were previously impractical. This paper presents the design of three transceiver building blocks to demonstrate the critical impact of passive network innovations. These designs include a broadband 27-46-GHz LNA, a 47-GHz four-way Doherty PA with over-GHz modulation bandwidth, and a 100-GHz LO generator with a FoM over 190 dBc/Hz. All these designs achieve state-of-the-art performance without modifying the basic circuit topology or transistor operations, highlighting the importance of passive network designs in overcoming the limitations of current transistor technologies at mmWave and sub-THz frequencies.