Silicon-Based mm-Wave Broadband RF Front-End

As big data technology improved, wireless communication is facing a new data rate challenge in the level of terabyte (TB). Frequency crowding, interference, and spectrum resources are limiting the wireless capability in the low-frequency band. Compared with microwave and mm-wave communications, sub-THz communication has a larger transmission bandwidth and transmission rate. In the D-band, the frequency window from 120 to 160GHz has low atmospheric attenuation, which is below 1dB/km. Therefore, it is suitable for medium-distance backhaul gigabit communication. For D-band wireless applications, the output power and gain-bandwidth requirements are pushing the silicon technology toward its limits due to limited fmax. In the silicon-based technology, the FDSOI technology would boost D-band Tx performance, also the clock generation would benefit from technology with high importance substrate with better phase noise.