Challenges of Designing Full Duplex and FDD Systems for 5G Radios
Monday, November 13, 14:20-15:40, Hall J
Emanuel Cohen, Technion, Israel
The increasing necessities for communication data push systems to multiband operation requiring numerous off-chip duplexers for FDD transceivers, or same-channel full-duplex wireless systems attempting to simultaneously transmit and receive (STR) RF signals at the same frequency. In addition the new application in mmW band for 5G will probably be phased array requiring diplexer free systems. This workshop presents the challenges and state of the art solutions to the RF front-end of a modern transceiver to cope with STR and diplexer free requirements
THz Integrated Circuit Design and Self-Healing
Monday, November 13, 16:00-17:20, Hall J
Mihai Sanduleanu, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE
The THz gap refers to 0.1THz - 10THz frequency range and this spectrum is under-explored and under-exploited so far. The IC technology provides faster and faster devices and eventually will reach to the THz gap between electronics and photonics. The price for high frequency capability - captured in the fT and fMAX - of the newer technology nodes, is the performance degradation seen as a result of scaling variability. Hence, integrated transceivers in advanced nanometer CMOS are difficult to design using the traditional six sigma circuit design methodology, in part because of their sensitivities to process P, supply voltage V, temperature T, and also to device modeling error.
As a paradigm shift, we envision that self-healing could be successfully applied to THz IC design with the primary goal of using on-chip sensors and actuators, together with algorithms to increase high-frequency transceiver yield. In the tutorial we are addressing the design issues of different transceivers for mm-Waves with the focus on self-healing. Examples of sub-THz radio transceivers, imaging systems, and short-range communication systems, integrated on-chip, will be introduced. This tutorial stems from the author’s research work at IBM and Masdar Institute of Science and Technology together with Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburg, PA.
Interference Robust CMOS Radio Receiver Techniques
Tuesday, November 14, 14:20-16:10, Hall H
Eric Klumperink, University of Twente, The Netherlands
The radio spectrum is becoming more and more crowded, and radio receivers become interference limited. As there is a demand for multi-mode flexible radio devices, traditional dedicated narrowband filtering no longer satisfies. During the last decade, several new radio receiver architectures have been proposed which offer more flexibility than traditional receivers with dedicated fixed filtering, while still achieving good sensitivity and robustness for interference. Different names have been used to refer to these receivers, e.g. reconfigurable receiver, multi-band receiver, wideband receiver, SAW-less receiver, software defined radio receiver or cognitive radio receiver. These receivers have in common that they all aim for a high dynamic range while relying less on fixed filters. This tutorial reviews several proposed concepts, e.g. linearization techniques, noise and distortion cancelling, Low Noise Transconductance Amplifiers followed by current-mode mixing, mixer-first receivers, frequency-translated N-path filtering, harmonic rejection and spatial interference rejection.
Mixed Signal and Analog Circuit Design with Memristors
Wednesday, November 15, 14:20-16:10, Hall TBD
Shahar Kvatinsky, Technion, Israel
Memristors, emerging nonvolatile passive devices, have gained tremendous interest in recent years as memory technologies. These devices can store data as resistance and have several attractive properties that make them ideal candidates to replace existing memory technologies. Some of the characteristics of memristors, such as their analog nature, nonvolatility, small area, and compatibility with CMOS, make them attractive also for other applications.
This tutorial focuses on the use of memristors in mixed signal and analog circuits, and consists of three short parts. First, we will explain the basic properties of memristors and the state-of-the-art devices and applications. Then, we will show how memristors can be used as radiofrequency switches and their use in RF circuits. Finally, we will describe the use of memristors in intelligent data conversion circuits for reconfigurable digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital systems.
Intuitive Microwave Filter Design with EM Simulation
Wednesday, November 15, 14:20-16:10, Hall I
Daniel Swanson, DGS Associates, LLC,
Microwave filters are a critical component in low cost, high volume commercial systems as well as in higher performance, lower volume military systems. Examples include high Q cavity filters for cellular base stations and planar, thin-film filters for electronic warfare or surveillance systems. There are many other filter technologies and applications we could add to this list.
In this short course we will present a brief introduction to both high Q cavity filters and planar thin-film filters.
We will outline a common design flow based on Dishal’s method for both filter types and highlight the design tools that make the design process as intuitive and efficient as possible. EM simulation is an integral part of these design flows and we will offer some useful tips on how to use these tools most effectively. The nonspecialist can easily master these design techniques for narrow and moderate bandwidth filters.