Time Modulated mm-Wave Transceiver Chips With Enhanced Backoff Efficiency (Invited)

This paper introduces the concept of a time-modulated transmitter array that improves efficiency in mmWave transmitters by integrating direct digital amplitude and phase beamforming. Traditional systems face challenges with low backoff efficiency and complex beamforming at high frequencies. The time modulated system addresses these by using time modulation to control phase shifting and backoff, providing enhanced power efficiency and harmonic suppression. The key innovation is introducing a new concept of using time as an additional degree of freedom, with time-modulated digital switching to precisely control phase and improve efficiency across a wide range of backoff levels. This method simplifies hardware by eliminating the need for bulky phase shifters, while enabling precise beamforming and frequency agility, making the system scalable for large phased arrays.