SEU made breakthrough in the R&D of millimeter-wave CMOS chips
On August 13, the project titled “Ka-band CMOS phase control array chip and large-scale integrated array antenna technology”, under the leadership of Prof. You Xiaohu and Prof. Zhao Dixian from School of Information Science and Engineering, SEU in conjunction with Chengdu Tianrui Xingtong Technology Co., Ltd., Purple Mountain Laboratories of Network Communication and Security, etc., passed the on-site appraisal organized by the Chinese Institute of Electronics.
Achievements
Upon technical exploration and innovation for as long as 6 years, the project team has overcome the inherent bottleneck challenge of millimeter wave CMOS chip technology. The chips as developed feature the noise figure of 3dB and the transmission channel efficiency up to 15%; meanwhile, the precise amplitude and phase can be regulated without calibration. Based on the beam-forming capability of the large-scale phased array, it can overcome the problem of limited output power of millimeter-wave CMOS chips.
The appraisal committee composed of Academician Wu Hequan, Academician Chen Zuoning, Academician Li Guojie, Academician Lyu Yueguang and Academician Ding Wenhua from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and members from China Mobile, the Academy of Information and Communications Technology, ZTE, Datang Telecom and 5 domestic universities, a total of 15 experts appraised and highly recognized the project results.
It is universally agreed that this project has solved the key technical bottleneck challenge of silicon-based CMOS millimeter wave Ka-band phased array chips and antennas for large-scale promotion and application, successfully developed Ka-band CMOS phased array chips, worked out a set of low-cost solutions to effective millimeter-wave large-scale integrated array antennas and initiated a number of key technologies.
Meanwhile, the project has also achieved major breakthroughs in the silicon-based CMOS millimeter-wave technology, in which the integration of large-scale phased array antennas is leading internationally. The results will have broad application prospects in the fields of 5G/6G millimeter wave and broadband satellite communications, etc., and have made key breakthroughs in the “bottleneck” technology in this field. They have been successfully promoted and applied in relevant application departments.
Significance
At present, the characteristic frequency of 40nm and 28nm CMOS processes for radio frequency chips has exceeded 250GHz, which can fully meet the needs of millimeter wave applications theoretically. The breakthrough of millimeter-wave silicon-based CMOS integrated circuit technology will no doubt revolutionize the wireless communication industry. It will solve the problem of unaffordable phased-array system; on the contrary, it will change the millimeter wave chips and large-scale phased arrays to very low-cost consumables. Compared with the silicon germanium technology and the compound semiconductor technology, CMOS technology highlights huge advantages in cost, integration and yield with lower output power and higher parasitic effects of the device itself.
It is reported that the broadband satellite mobile communication system will greatly expand the coverage of the existing terrestrial mobile communication system. As one of the main development directions of future mobile internet networks, it has become a new focus of global technological competition. During Beijing Winter Olympic, the 5G millimeter wave technology will be introduced domestically. The 5G millimeter wave chips and the splicing-type large-scale phased arrays as successfully developed by the project team highlight a frequency coverage of 24.25-27.5 GHz and comply with the 400MHz/64-QAM modulation signal transmission format defined by the 3GPP 5G NR standard protocol. It will provide powerful technical support to the development of China’s 5G millimeter wave industry.
Editor’s notes
The large-scale phased array of 4096T/4096R broadband satellites as demonstrated at the appraisal meeting is the phased array highlighting the highest integration and the largest scale based on CMOS technology. It is interconnected with the ChinaSat-16 high-altitude telecommunication satellite with the transmission rate close to that of the existing 4G mobile communication system. The low-cost solutions as developed have been applied in the “On-The-Move” Satellite Communication System including vehicles, ships, aircrafts, etc.