LOW-COST LOW-POWER
60 GHZ SMALL CELL
TECHNOLOGY FOR
MOBILE BACKHAUL
Over the last years imec became a leading center for scalable phased
array technologies enabling multi-Gbps communication. The imec
60GHz R&D program pioneers design solutions for low cost and
low power 60GHz phased array radios covering the system level, IC
design and antenna design.
MOBILE NETWORK CAPACITY
INCREASE THANKS TO 60GHZ SMALL
CELLS
Due to the dramatic increase of
mobile data traffic mobile networks
have to deliver more capacity. To
increase the overall network capacity
the use of higher frequency bands
as well as spectrum reuse is a must.
Especially in urban areas transmission
distances are reducing and capacities
are growing. Radio’s operating in the
60GHz band are a perfect fit for this
evolution towards links with high
capacity @ short-range and have a
very attractive cost-per-bit. The 5766GHz unlicensed band is available
throughout the world and enables
for multi-Gbit/s point to point
backhaul links. The high propagation
attenuation at these frequencies
allows for frequency reuse. Todays
downscaled CMOS technologies have
higher switching speed and allow the
realization of millimeter-wave radios
with performance competitive to
SiGe BiCMOS technology. This paves
MORE INFORMATION:
Charlotte Soens
Charlotte.soens@imec.be
Phone: + 32 16 28 86 78
imec 2014 ASPIRE INVENT ACHIEVE
the way to combine the millimeterwave transceiver and digital baseband
on a single chip resulting in lower
cost solutions and more digital
functionality added to the RF and
analog. At 60GHz using downscaled
CMOS a compact phased array
system with electronic beamforming
can be implemented at low-cost
and low-power consumption. This
drastically reduces deployment and
maintenance costs. Imec’s research
aims to develop highly-integrated,
low-cost and low-power 60GHz radio
solutions providing multi-gigabit
wireless connectivity for backhaul.
The imec chip technology allows
customers to save product design
cycles and reduce time-to-market
drastically.
TECHNOLOGY TARGETS
Imec is developing a highlyintegrated phased array transceiver
technology for small cell backhaul
including millimeter-wave frontends, beamformer, VGA, low pass
filter, PLL, ADC.
28nm digital CMOS without RF
options (VDD 0.9V) for lowest cost
Fully integrated Direct
Conversion (Zero IF)
Down
Enables single chip integration
with the digital baseband
Electronic beamsteering &
digital functionality @ low die
size & low power consumption
Digital on-chip control next
to the mm-wave @ low die
size & low power consumption
Compact integration with
antenna array
IN URBAN AREAS 60GHz RADIO’S CAN DRASTICALLY
INCREASE MOBILE NETWORK CAPACITY.
Small cell prototype with 16 active
elements being developed (can be
scaled up to more active elements)
CMOS CIRCUIT PERFORMANCE
PA OUTPUT 1DB COMPRESSION POINT UP TO
10dBm AND SATURATED OUTPUT POWER UP
TO 13.5dBm
VERY LOW LNA NOISE FIGURE OF 6dB
VCO PHASE NOISE BETTER THAN -93dBc/Hz
AT 1MHZ OFFSET
IMEC MM-WAVE EXPERTISE
Imec has developed a IEEE802.11ad
standard compliant 60GHz phased
array transceiver chip technology in
40nm CMOS. To demonstrate the
technology a prototype integrated
with a 4 antenna array has been
realized. The prototype achieves
standard compliant speeds up to
4.6Gbps (QAM16 10-5 BER) and
communication distance up to 10m.
This distance can be increased by
scaling up the number of antenna
paths. A new generation in 28nm is
under development.
Imec has a track record in highspeed low-power consumption ADC
designs.
PLL INTEGRATED PHASE NOISE -24DBC
ADC 7 BIT 3,5 GSPS
Imec
developed
complete
IEEE802.11ad
signal
processing
models for both the Single Carrier
and the OFDM physical layer. It
SYSTEM SPECIFICATION
SUMMARY
includes algorithmic solutions
for
synchronization,
channel
estimation, equalization, tracking
and detection and is capable
of compensating non-idealities
of RF front-end non-idealities.
A complementary innovative
beamforming algorithm gives high
performance even in multi-path
environments.
Imec is developing phased array
antenna and antenna interface
solutions for 60GHz. The imec
antenna research aims at improving
antenna efficiency, bandwidth
and scan range for a better user
experience. Different technologies
are employed to deliver the
optimal cost/power/area trade-off
for IMEC customers.
MORE INFORMATION AVAILABLE
UNDER NDA
© imec 2013 - Information and images in this document are
presented ‘as is’; no license is granted by implication or other-
CHANNEL
57 GHz to 66 GHz
SCAN RANGE AZIMUTH
45 degrees
SCAN RANGE ELEVATION
35 degrees
CHANNEL TYPE
LOS, point
to point
DATA RATES
QPSK
1.5 Gbps
RANGE
150m
300m
RX RF POWER CONSUMPTION
@ MAX SPEED
1W
RX RF POWER CONSUMPTION
@ MAX SPEED
1.8W
wise. The contents of this document are subject to change.
Customers are advised to consult with IMEC’s sales representative before ordering. Any purchase will be subject to IMEC’s
general terms and conditions of sale.
QAM16
3Gbps
150m
300m
2W
1W
2W
3.8W
1.8W
3.8W
IMEC 60 GHz SMALL CELL BACKHAUL MODULE
(ARTIST IMPRESSION)
Imec is a registered trademark for the activities of IMEC International (a legal entity set up under Belgian law as a “stichting van openbaar nut”), imec Belgium (IMEC vzw supported by the Flemish Government), IMEC the
Netherlands (Stichting IMEC Nederland, part of Holst Centre which is supported by the Dutch government) and imec Taiwan (IMEC Taiwan Co.) and imec China (IMEC Microelectronics (Shangai) Co. Ltd.).
imec Kapeldreef 75, 3001 Leuven, Belgium www.imec.be