Thesis (M.App.Sc.) - Carleton University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 73-76). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

The design of reconfigurable microwave and millimeter-wave circuit components and on-chip testing circuitry are demonstrated. These components are designed to enable the mitigation of process faults, aging, radiation effects, and other mechanisms that lead to performance degradation in circuits and systems. The presented work is primarily based on SiGe HBTs in BiCMOS technology and harnesses the inherent resilience of SiGe to mechanisms that degrade transistor performance. However, CMOS FETs are also used in limited applications, such as in the design of switches, op-amps, and DACs. Individual circuit blocks and circuit systems are characterized with the aim of evaluating their performance under nominal conditions as well as in the context of extreme environments and other deleterious phenomena.

En esta Tesis se ha realizado análisis, diseño y caracterización de los amplificadores de bajoruido y banda ancha en tecnología de GaAs PHEMT con aplicación a los módulos posteriores delradiómetro del instrumento de baja frecuencia del satélite Planck. La Tesis se compone de las siguientes partes:- Introducción y estudio del funcionamiento del radiómetro del instrumento de baja frecuencia de Planck.- Diseño y caracterización de amplificadores de bajo ruido utilizando tecnología de GaAs. Se presentan diseños MMIC en la banda Ka y en la banda Q, y un diseño MIC en la banda Q.- Diseño y construcción de los módulos posteriores en las bandas de 30 y 44 GHz. Se presentan varios prototipos fabricados en ambas bandas, así como medidas de cada uno de los subsistemas que los forman.- Desarrollo de técnicas de medida para receptores de banda ancha con detección directa y su aplicación a la caracterización de los módulos posteriores, mostrando el funcionamiento de los prototipos representativos para las dos bandas de frecuencia.- Integración de los módulos posteriores con los módulos frontales y presentación de algunos de los resultados de medida de los radiómetros completos. / This Thesis deals with the analysis, design and characterization of broadband low noise amplifiersin GaAs PHEMT technology with application to the radiometer Back-End Modules for the Planck Low Frequency Instrument (LFI). The Thesis is composed of the next parts:- Introduction and study about the radiometer of the Planck low frequency instrument.- Design and characterization of low noise amplifiers using GaAs technology. Ka-band MMIC designs and Q-band MMIC and a MIC design are presented.- Design and assembly of the 30 and 44 GHz back-end modules. Several prototypes have been manufactured in both frequency bands and the most representative test results of each subsystem are presented.- Development of measurement techniques for broadband direct detection receivers and their application to the characterization of the back-end modules. Performance of representative prototypes in both frequency bands is included.- Integration of the back end modules and front end modules and significant results of the tests for a radiometer in each frequency band.

"2009" / Thesis (MSc (Hons))--Macquarie University, Faculty of Science, Dept. of Physics and Engineering, 2010. / Bibliography: p. 163-166. / Introduction -- Design theory and process technology -- 15GHz oscillator implementations -- 24GHz oscillator implementation -- Frequency prescaler implementation -- MMIC fabrication and measurement -- Conclusion. / Advances in Silicon Germanium (SiGe) Bipolar Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (BiCMOS) technology has caused a recent revolution in low-cost Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) design. -- This thesis presents the design, fabrication and measurement of four MMICs for frequency synthesis, manufactured in a commercially available IBM 0.18μm SiGe BiCMOS technology with ft = 60GHz. The high speed and low-cost features of SiGe Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors (HBTs) were exploited to successfully develop two single-ended injection-lockable 15GHz Voltage Controlled Oscillators (VCOs) for application in an active Ka-Band antenna beam-forming network, and a 24GHz differential cross-coupled VCO and 1/6 synchronous static frequency prescaler for emerging Ultra Wideband (UWB) automotive Short Range Radar (SRR) applications. -- On-wafer measurement techniques were used to precisely characterise the performance of each circuit and compare against expected simulation results and state-of-the-art performance reported in the literature. -- The original contributions of this thesis include the application of negative resistance theory to single-ended and differential SiGe VCO design at 15-24GHz, consideration of manufacturing process variation on 24GHz VCO and prescaler performance, implementation of a fully static multi-stage synchronous divider topology at 24GHz and the use of differential on-wafer measurement techniques. -- Finally, this thesis has llustrated the excellent practicability of SiGe BiCMOS technology in the engineering of high performance, low-cost MMICs for frequency synthesis in millimeterwave (mm-wave) devices. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / xxii, 166 p. : ill (some col.)