Low-cost GaAs pHEMT MMIC's for millimeter-wave sensor applications

A set of coplanar monolithic microwave integrated circuits for millimeter-w ave sensor applications is described. It consists of a highly integrated tr ansceiver chip, a voltage-controlled oscillator, a harmonic mixer, and a ge neral-purpose medium-power amplifier, The circuits operate in the 76-77 GHz frequency range and have been fabricated by a production-oriented GaAs pHE MT technology, The transceiver chip combines a transmitter with 9-dBm outpu t power and a receiver with an overall conversion gain of 1 dB, The voltage -controlled oscillator is tunable over a 0.8 GHz bandwidth. It includes a b uffer amplifier and generates an output power of 10 dBm. The harmonic mixer achieves 18 dB conversion loss when mixing with the fifth harmonic of the LO signal, The two-stage MPA delivers 13 dBm of output power along with a g ain of 7.5 dB, The chip set is suited for the cost effective realization of automotive radar systems as well as various sensors for industrial applica tions.