LOW COST MONOLITHIC RECEIVER MODULE

THE BEST RESULTS IN MILLIMETER WAVE RECEIVERS REPORTED SO FAR HAS BEEN ACHIEVED WITH SEPARATE CHIPS FOR THE COMPONENTS AND WITH OPTIMIZED PROCESSING FOR EACH. THIS IS A VERY HIGH COST APPROACH BECAUSE OF THE SPECIALIZED PROCESSING AND ASSEMBLY TIME REQUIRED. HERE WE PROPOSE TO DESIGN AND DEVELOP A SINGLE CHIP, LOW COST, HIGH PERFORMANCE, MILLIMETER WAVE RECEIVER IC. THIS GAASIC WILL INCORPORATE LOW NOISE AMPLIFIERS, MIXERS, IF AMPLIFIERS AND LOCAL OSCILLATORS ON A SINGLE IC. THE VERY LOW INTERCONNECTION PARASITICS ACHIEVED BY THIS TECHNIQUE WILL RESULT IN HIGH PERFORMANCE NOT REALIZABLE WITH HYBRID TECHNIQUES OR SEPARATE CHIPS. THE ASSEMBLY TIME IS ALSO GREATLY REDUCED RESULTING IN LOW COST. PHASE I WILL COMPRISE OF A FEASIBILITY STUDY OF THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF THE RECEIVER AND INVESTIGATION OF SPECIAL TECHNIQUES FOR COMBINING ALL THESE COMPONENTS ON A SINGLE IC. PHASE II OF THE PROJECT WILL INVOLVE THE CIRCUIT DESIGN AND SIMULATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS, AND LAYOUT, INTEGRATION AND FABRICATION OF THE COMPLETE RECEIVER IC. SUCH A MONOLITHIC RECEIVER IC WILL FIND WIDE APPLICATIONS IN MILLIMETER WAVE SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS, RADAR, AND MISSILE SEEKER SYSTEMS, REDUCING THE COST, SIZE, AND WEIGHT OF SUCH SYSTEM CONSIDERABLY.