Institute for Applied Microelectronics
RFIC
RFIC Brochure
Institute for Applied Microelectronics, RFIC
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The Institute for Applied Microelectronics (IUMA) is a center for advanced teaching and research in the field of Microelectronics. The IUMA Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits Group conducts research and design in the field of high performance Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC) for wireless applications: IEEE 802.11a, UWB, DVB, etc.
In the area of integrated RF we develop standard ICs and IPs in CMOS and SiGe BiCMOS technology
achieving highly integrated and powerful cells. The IC production is based on state-of-the-art technologies of commercial semiconductor vendors.
RESEARCH AREAS
RFIC
Front-end architecture design for wireless communications: DVB-H, DVB-SH,
UWB, WiMedia, Bluetooth, IEEE-802.11x, etc.
Design, Layout, and Manufacturing of Low power and low cost RFICs and
RFIC building blocks: Frontends, LNAs, Mixers, VCOs, Filters, Power
Amplifiers, LDO Regulators, Op-AMPs, etc.
MODELING
PCB and Package modeling using 3D EM simulator
Integrated Inductors and Varactors modeling
Design of CAD Tools for RFIC Design Automation
Active Devices modeling for RF frequencies
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FINISHED PROJECTS
INTEGRATED INDUCTORS LIBRARY - 2001 The objective of this project was the development of a integrated inductor library for RF applications.
New parametric integrated inductor model was introduced and automatic tools to assist the designers in selecting and automatically laying-out integrated inductors. The routine was embedded in CADENCE and effectively reduces the time spent in the circuit layout design phase.
MMIC PHASE SWITCH FOR LMDS - 2001 The objective of this project was to assess the feasibility of using a phase shifter developed by the IAC
(Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias) for the design of a circuit modulator MMIC for LMDS.
CMOS FRONT-END FOR A GPS RECEIVER - 2002 The objective of this project was the design of a fully integrated receiver front-end for GPS applications in
a 0.8 SiGe technology.
INTEGRATED VARACTORS LIBRARY - 2002 The objective of this project was the development of a integrated varactor library for RF applications.
New parametric integrated inductor model was introduced and automatic tools to assist the designers in selecting and automatically laying-out integrated varactors. The routine was embedded in CADENCE and effectively reduces the time spent in the circuit layout design phase.
INTEGRATED CIRCUIT DESIGN FOR WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORKS IN THE 5GHZ BAND (CINT5G) - 2003
The objective of this project was to investigate suitable technologies for the realization of integrated transceivers in the 5 GHz band. In this project a Low-IF RF front-end with a polyphase filter to eliminate the image frequency was successfully designed.
MODULATOR PROTOTYPE FOR LMDS/MMDS - 2003 This project was the continuation of the project Phase Switch MMIC for LMDS and extends the
contributions made to the standard MMDS.
RFIC design. UWB frontend from 3.1 to 10,6 GHz in CMOS
technology. RFIC measurement. Mixer for IEEE 802.11a on
wafer measurement.
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Package and Board modeling using 3D Electromagnetic Simulator
DIGITAL TV DVB-H RECEIVER (RECITAL) - 2005 The objective of this project was the realization of a fully integrated terrestrial digital TV DVB-H receiver
for portable devices using a low-cost silicon technology. Given its portability, this project places particular emphasis on the use of low-power techniques.
DESIGN OF A INTEGRATED SYNTHESIZER FOR A IEEE 802.11A RECEIVER - 2005 The objective of this project was the implementation of a synthesizer for a IEEE 802.11a receiver that
operates in the 5GHz band. A fully integrated voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) and the rest of the synthesizer blocks were successfully implemented in a 0.35um low cost technology.
WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES FOR SMALL AREA NETWORKS WITH EMBEDDED SECURITY & SAFETY (WITNESS) - 2005
WITNESS project is part of the EU MEDEA + program and its objective was the development of new techniques for short-range wireless communications and very low power consumption. The consortium consists of institutions of three countries and focuses its research on Bluetooth standards, Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) and ZigBee. Our participation consisted on the development of RF integrated circuits for UWB transceivers (802.15.3a).
PFD CHARGEPUMP FILTER
÷2 FAST DIVIDER90º SHIFTER÷4/5÷58−106
÷5RESET
RESET
N=NP·P+A
fref=2 MHzfout
fout/2fdiv
fout2
VCO
PROGRAMMABLE DIVIDER
0º
fout2
90º
948-1724 MHz
474-862 MHz
P/P+1NP
A
UP
DOWNICP VTUNE
Phase noise measurement of a VCO for DVB. Synthesizer for DVB-H (474 - 862 MHz).
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Gain measurement for a wideband low noise amplifier for
UWB. Low noise amplifiers for UWB (3.1.-10.6 GHz) in BiCMOS
technology.
NOISE TOLERANT RFIC DESIGN FOR COMMUNICATIONS FREQUENCIES ABOVE 5GHZ - 2005 The objective of this project was the study of the issues (in particular, noise couplings through the
substrate) related to the design of wireless communication systems with low-cost technologies using frequencies up to 5 GHz. The ultimate goal was the optimization of integrated receiver blocks through the use of techniques for substrate noise rejection.
IC DESIGN FOR A FINGERPRINT SENSOR FOR USE IN MOBILE DEVICES - 2007 The objective of this project was the design of an IC for a fingerprint sensor to be used in mobile devices.
DESIGN OF A LDO REGULATOR FOR MOBILE DEVICES - 2007 The objective of this project was the design of a LDO Regulator to be used in mobile devices.
SATELLITE DIGITAL TV DVB-SH RECEIVER (RECITAL+) - 2008 The objective of this project was the realization of a fully integrated satellite digital TV DVB-SH receiver
for portable devices using a low-cost silicon technology. Given its portability, this project places particular emphasis on the use of low-power techniques.
LNA
I / Q mixers PMAs LPFs VGA2
090 PLL
VGA1
channel filters
antennaRF filter
ADC
DSP
System Design Level. DVB-SH Receiver (2.17-2.2 GHz).
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Inductor modeling. Automatic generation tool for Cadence in Skill Language
SHORT RANGE RADIO (SR2) (MEDEA+) - 2008 This project was the continuation of the project WITNESS and extends the contributions made to the
standard UBW.
STUDY ON STABILITY OF THE INTEGRATED CIRCUIT AS3991 POWER AMPLIFIER- 2010 In this project the stability of the AS3991 Power Amplifier (Austria Mikro Systeme) for RFID was studied. PCB and QFN64 package modeling was done and on-chip solution for PA instability was also carried out.
Mixed signal IC design. Schematic and simulation of a driver for capacitive fingerprint sensor.
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EQUIPMENT
• Cascade Summit 9100 Probe Station (on Wafer Measurement) • Agilent VNA 20GHz (8720ES) • Agilent Spectrum Analyzer 26GHz (E4446) with PN measurement personality • Noise Generator (346C) • 2 ESG Vector Signal Generator 6 and 20 GHz with wireless LAN modulation capabilities • Agilent B1500A Semiconductor Device Analyzer • Base band generators (33220A) • Low Noise System Power Supply (6627A) • TPT Manual Bonding Machine
TECHNOLOGIES
• UMC • TSMC • ST Microelectronics • Austria Microsystems (AMS) • AMI Semiconductor • etc.
SOFTWARE - TOOLS
• Agilent ADS & IC-CAP • Altera • ARM • Cadence • Coventor • CoWare • Idass • Matlab • Mentor • Synopsys • System Tools • Xilinx
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CONTACT
Institute for Applied Microelectronics, RFIC Prof. Dr.- Javier del Pino Suárez Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 35017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain Phone +34 928 458 046 Fax +34 928 451 243 [email protected] www.iuma.ulpgc.es/users/rfic