Designing CMOS linear transmitter front-end, specially the power amplifiers (PAs), in multi-band wireless transceivers is a major challenge for the single-chip integration of a CMOS radio. In some of the linear PA systems, for example, polar- or predistortion-PA system, amplitude and phase control circuits are used to suppress the distortion produces by the PA core. The requirements of these controlling circuits are much different from their conventional role in a receiver or a phase array system. In this dissertation, the special design issues will be addressed, and the circuit topologies of the amplitude and phase controllers will be proposed. In attempt to control the high-power input signal of a PA system, a highly linear variable attenuator with adaptive body biasing is first introduced. The voltage swing on the signal path is intentionally coupled to the body terminal of the triple-well NMOS devices to reduce their impedance variation. The fabricated variable attenuator shows a significant improvement on linearity as compared to previous CMOS works. The results of this research are then used to build a variable gain amplifier for linear PA systems that requires gain of its amplitude tuning circuits. Different from the conventional attenuator-based VGAs, the high linearity of the suggested attenuator allows it to be put after the gain stage in the presented VGA topology. This arrangement along with the current boosting technique gives the VGA a better noise performance while having a linear-in-dB tuning curve and better worst-case linearity. The following part of the dissertation is about a compact, linear-in-degree tuned variable phase shifter as the phase controller in the PA system. This design uses a modified RC poly-phase filter to produce a set of an orthogonal phase vectors with smaller loss. A specially designed control circuit combines these vectors and generates an output signal with different phases, while having very small gain mismatches at different phase setting. The proposed amplitude and phase control circuits are then verified with a system level analysis. The results show that the proposed designs successfully reduce the non-linear effect of a wireless transmitter.

Die vorliegende Arbeit ist der analytischen Untersuchung und Weiterentwicklung von Methoden und Schaltungen zur Einstellung der Signalphase und -amplitude gewidmet. Hierbei wird zum Ziel gesetzt, die Leistungsfähigkeit dieser Schaltungen als analoge Hochfrequenz-Baugruppen in Empfangs- und Sendeschaltkreisen mit einem vergleichbaren oder geringerem schaltungstechnischen Aufwand und Strombedarf zu verbessern und dies anhand von Implementierungsbeispielen zu bestätigen. Die Dämpfungsglied-Topologien , T, überbrücktes T und X werden modelliert und hinsichtlich der Phasenbeeinflussung analysiert, sodass eine Bewertung ihrer Eignung durchgeführt werden kann. Weiterhin wird ein innovativer Ansatz zur Linearisierung der Steuerkennlinie vorgestellt und mit Hilfe einer Beispielschaltung mit einem Phasenfehler von 3 ° und einem Steuerlinearitätsfehler von 0,35 dB innerhalb der 1 dB Grenzfrequenz und einem Steuerbereich von 20 dB nachgewiesen. Die Arbeit bietet darüber hinaus eine analytische Betrachtung zu aktiven steuerbaren Verstärkern, welche die besondere Eignung der Gilbert-Zelle aufzeigt und eine geeignete Ansteuerschaltung ableitet. Am Beispiel nach diesem Prinzip entworfener Schaltkreise werden Phasenfehler von nur 0,4 ° innerhalb eines besonders hohen Stellbereichs von 36 dB demonstriert, wodurch eine Vergrößerung des Stellbereichs um den Faktor 4 und eine Verbesserung des Phasenfehlers um den Faktor 2 im Vergleich zum Stand der Technik erreicht wurde. Es wird der Zirkulator-Phasenschieber maßgeblich durch eine neuartige geeignete Ansteuerung verbessert. Damit werden die sonst für die Amplitudenbeeinflussung im Wesentlichen verantwortlichen Varaktoren überflüssig, ohne dabei den schaltungstechnischen Aufwand zu erhöhen. Eine Messung der entsprechenden Schaltung bestätigt dies mit einem Amplitudenfehler von nur 0,9 dB für einen Phasenstellbereich von 360 °, was einer Verringerung des Fehlers um den Faktor 3 im Vergleich zu herkömmlichen Zirkulator-Phasenschiebern entspricht. Abschließend wird der Funktionsnachweis mehrerer entworfener Vektor-Modulatoren mit einer effektiven Genauigkeit von bis zu 6 bit in Einzelschaltungen, Hybridaufbauten und schließlich im Rahmen eines vollständig integrierten Empfängerschaltkreises erbracht. Dieser erzielt eine Verdopplung der Reichweite bei einer um nur 35% höheren Leistungsaufnahme gegenüber einem herkömmlichen Kommunikationsverfahren (SISO). / The present work is dedicated to the investigation and enhancement of amplitude and phase control methods and circuits. The aim is to enhance the performance of these circuits in modern radio frequency transceivers with a comparable or even lower effort and power consumption. A prove of concept will be delivered with implementation examples. By means of models of the passive attenuator topologies , T, bridged-T and X, a thorough analysis is performed in order to compare them regarding their impact on the signal phase. Additionally, a novel approach to increase the control linearity of the attenuators is proposed and verified by measurements, showing a phase error of 3 ° and a control linearity error of 0,35 dB at the 1 dB corner frequency, successfully. The work also presents an investigation on variable gain amplifiers and reveals the superior performance of the Gilbert cell with respect to low phase variations. A cascode biasing circuit that supports these properties is proposed. Measurements prove this concept with relative phase errors of 0,4 ° over a wide attenuation control range of 36 dB thus cutting the error by half in a four times wider control range. The circulator based phase shifting approach is chosen and improved significantly by means of tuning the transconductor instead of the varactors thus removing their impact on signal amplitude. The approach is supported by measurements yielding an amplitude error of only 0,9 dB within a phase control range of 360 ° which corresponds to an improvement by a factor of three compared to recent circulator phase shifters. Finally, the design of several vector modulator topologies is shown with hardware examples of single chips, hybrid printed circuit boards and highly integrated system level ICs demonstrating a full receiver. By using improved variable gain amplifiers, an effective vector modulator resolution of 6 bit without calibration is achieved. Furthermore, a multiple-input multiple-output system is demonstrated that doubles the coverage range of common SISO systems with only 35% of additional power consumption.

The objectives of this work were to investigate, design and implement beam steering antenna arrays for mobile and wireless applications using the genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimisation (PSO) techniques as optimisation design tools. Several antenna designs were implemented and tested: initially, a printed dipole antenna integrated with a duplex RF switch used for mobile base station antenna beam steering was investigated. A coplanar waveguide (CPW) to coplanar strip (CPS) transition was adopted to feed the printed dipole. A novel RF switch circuit, used to control the RF signal fed to the dipole antenna and placed directly before it, was proposed. The measured performance of the RF switch was tested and the results confirmed its viability. Then two hybrid coupled PIN diode phase shifters, using Branchline and Rat-Race ring coupler structures, were designed and tested. The generation of four distinct phase shifts was implemented and studied. The variations of the scattering parameters were found to be realistic, with an acceptable ±2 phase shift tolerance. Next, antenna beam steering was achieved by implementing RF switches with ON or OFF mode functions to excite the radiating elements of the antenna array. The switching control process was implemented using a genetic algorithm (GA) method, subject to scalar and binary genes. Anti-phase feeding of radiating elements was also investigated. A ring antenna array with reflectors was modelled and analysed. An antenna of this type for mobile base stations was designed and simulation results are presented. Following this, a novel concept for simple beam steering using a uniform antenna array operated at 2.4 GHz was designed using GA. The antenna is fed by a single RF input source and the steering elements are reactively tuned by varactor diodes in series with small inductors. The beam-control procedure was derived through the use of a genetic algorithm based on adjusting the required reactance values to obtain the optimum solution as indicated by the cost function. The GA was also initially used as an optimisation tool to derive the antenna design from its specification. Finally, reactive loading and time modulated switching techniques are applied to steer the beam of a circular uniformly spaced antenna array having a source element at its centre. Genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimisation (PSO) processes calculate the optimal values of reactances loading the parasitic elements, for which the gain can be optimised in a desired direction. For time modulated switching, GA and PSO also determine the optimal on and off times of the parasitic elements for which the difference in currents induced optimises the gain and steering of the beam in a desired direction. These methods were demonstrated by investigating a vertically polarised antenna configuration. A prototype antenna was constructed and experimental results compared with the simulations. Results showed that near optimal solutions for gain optimisation, sidelobe level reduction and beam steering are achievable by utilising these methods. In addition, a simple switching process is employed to steer the beam of a horizontally polarised circular antenna array. A time modulated switching process is applied through Genetic Algorithm optimisation. Several model examples illustrate the radiation beams and the switching time process of each element in the array.

O desenvolvimento deste trabalho foi motivado pela alta demanda de novas aplicações para o mercado do consumidor que necessitam de sistemas de transmissão e recepção de dados sem fio trabalhando na região de ondas milimétricas (mmW - entre 30 GHz e 300 GHz). Para estes tipos de sistemas, os defasadores são cruciais por definir o custo e o tamanho do dispositivo final. A pesquisa bibliográfica mostra que a melhor opção são os defasadores passivos do tipo linha carregada que utilizam Sistemas Microeletromecânicos (MEMS) como elemento de ajuste para a mudança de fase. Por esse motivo neste trabalho foi feito o estudo de diferentes tecnologias para o desenvolvimento de defasadores baseados em MEMS distribuídos e linhas de transmissão com efeito de ondas lentas de tipo shielded-CoPlanar Stripline (S-CPS) e shielded-Coplanar Waveguide (S-CPW). Foram estudadas três diferentes tecnologias: a tecnologia CMOS; a tecnologia dedicada desenvolvida pelo Laboratoire d\'électronique des technologies de l\'information (CEA-Leti) e a tecnologia in-house desenvolvida no Laboratório de Microeletrônica da Universidade de São Paulo. Utilizando a tecnologia CMOS foram fabricadas linhas de transmissão de tipo S-CPS utilizando a tecnologia de 250 nm da IHP (Innovations for High Performance Microelectronics) e a tecnologia de 0,35 µm da AMS (Austria Micro Systems). A tecnologia de 0,35 µm da AMS foi utilizada também para o desenvolvimento de defasadores de 2-bits e 3-bits baseados em linhas de transmissão de tipo S-CPW. Para estes defasadores foi definido um processo de liberação da camada de blindagem, reprodutível, que permitiu a atuação do dispositivo. Outros defasadores baseados em S-CPW que foram desenvolvidos anteriormente com a tecnologia dedicada CEA-LETI, foram modelados eletrostaticamente utilizando o Comsol MultiPhysics e o Ansys Workbench. Os modelos desenvolvidos permitiram entender o comportamento eletromecânico do defasador e foram utilizados reprojetar o defasador com um desempenho otimizado. Finalmente, visando o desenvolvimento dos dispositivos otimizados utilizando a tecnologia in house com os materiais e métodos disponíveis no Laboratório de Microeletrônica da USP (LME-USP), foram estudadas algumas etapas críticas do processo de fabricação. / The development of this work is motivated by the high demand for new applications for the consumer market that require wireless systems for data transmission and reception working in the millimeter wave region (mmW - between 30 GHz and 300 GHz). For these kinds of systems, the phase shifter are crucial to define the cost and size of the final device. The bibliographical research shows that the best option are the passive load line-type phase shifters using Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) as tuning element. Therefore, in this work, the study of different technologies for the development of phase shifter based on distributed MEMS and slow-wave transmission lines. The two types of transmission lines considered were the shielded-CoPlanar Stripline (S-CPS) and shielded-Coplanar Waveguide line (S-CPW). Three different technologies were studied: CMOS technology; the dedicated technology developed by the Laboratoire d\'électronique des technologies de l\'information (CEA-Leti) and the in-house technology developed at the Microelectronics Laboratory of the University of São Paulo. Using the CMOS technology, S-CPS-type transmission lines were fabricated using IHP\'s 250 nm CMOS technology and AMS\'s 0.35 µm CMOS technology. AMS\'s 0.35 µm technology has also been used for the development of 2-bit and 3-bit phase-shifters based on S-CPW type transmission lines. For these phase shifters, a reproducible shielding layer release process was defined that allowed the device to operate. Also, another phase shifter based in S-CPW-type transmission lines that were previously developed with dedicated CEA-LETI technology was electrostatically modeled using Comsol MultiPhysics and Ansys Workbench. The developed models allowed to understand the electromechanical behavior of the phase shifter and was used for a new design of the phase shifter with an optimized performance. Finally, in order to develop the optimized devices using the in-house technology with the materials and methods available at the USP Microelectronics Laboratory (LME-USP), some critical stages of the fabrication process were studied.

O desenvolvimento deste trabalho foi motivado pela alta demanda de novas aplicações para o mercado do consumidor que necessitam de sistemas de transmissão e recepção de dados sem fio trabalhando na região de ondas milimétricas (mmW - entre 30 GHz e 300 GHz). Para estes tipos de sistemas, os defasadores são cruciais por definir o custo e o tamanho do dispositivo final. A pesquisa bibliográfica mostra que a melhor opção são os defasadores passivos do tipo linha carregada que utilizam Sistemas Microeletromecânicos (MEMS) como elemento de ajuste para a mudança de fase. Por esse motivo neste trabalho foi feito o estudo de diferentes tecnologias para o desenvolvimento de defasadores baseados em MEMS distribuídos e linhas de transmissão com efeito de ondas lentas de tipo shielded-CoPlanar Stripline (S-CPS) e shielded-Coplanar Waveguide (S-CPW). Foram estudadas três diferentes tecnologias: a tecnologia CMOS; a tecnologia dedicada desenvolvida pelo Laboratoire d\'électronique des technologies de l\'information (CEA-Leti) e a tecnologia in-house desenvolvida no Laboratório de Microeletrônica da Universidade de São Paulo. Utilizando a tecnologia CMOS foram fabricadas linhas de transmissão de tipo S-CPS utilizando a tecnologia de 250 nm da IHP (Innovations for High Performance Microelectronics) e a tecnologia de 0,35 µm da AMS (Austria Micro Systems). A tecnologia de 0,35 µm da AMS foi utilizada também para o desenvolvimento de defasadores de 2-bits e 3-bits baseados em linhas de transmissão de tipo S-CPW. Para estes defasadores foi definido um processo de liberação da camada de blindagem, reprodutível, que permitiu a atuação do dispositivo. Outros defasadores baseados em S-CPW que foram desenvolvidos anteriormente com a tecnologia dedicada CEA-LETI, foram modelados eletrostaticamente utilizando o Comsol MultiPhysics e o Ansys Workbench. Os modelos desenvolvidos permitiram entender o comportamento eletromecânico do defasador e foram utilizados reprojetar o defasador com um desempenho otimizado. Finalmente, visando o desenvolvimento dos dispositivos otimizados utilizando a tecnologia in house com os materiais e métodos disponíveis no Laboratório de Microeletrônica da USP (LME-USP), foram estudadas algumas etapas críticas do processo de fabricação. / The development of this work is motivated by the high demand for new applications for the consumer market that require wireless systems for data transmission and reception working in the millimeter wave region (mmW - between 30 GHz and 300 GHz). For these kinds of systems, the phase shifter are crucial to define the cost and size of the final device. The bibliographical research shows that the best option are the passive load line-type phase shifters using Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) as tuning element. Therefore, in this work, the study of different technologies for the development of phase shifter based on distributed MEMS and slow-wave transmission lines. The two types of transmission lines considered were the shielded-CoPlanar Stripline (S-CPS) and shielded-Coplanar Waveguide line (S-CPW). Three different technologies were studied: CMOS technology; the dedicated technology developed by the Laboratoire d\'électronique des technologies de l\'information (CEA-Leti) and the in-house technology developed at the Microelectronics Laboratory of the University of São Paulo. Using the CMOS technology, S-CPS-type transmission lines were fabricated using IHP\'s 250 nm CMOS technology and AMS\'s 0.35 µm CMOS technology. AMS\'s 0.35 µm technology has also been used for the development of 2-bit and 3-bit phase-shifters based on S-CPW type transmission lines. For these phase shifters, a reproducible shielding layer release process was defined that allowed the device to operate. Also, another phase shifter based in S-CPW-type transmission lines that were previously developed with dedicated CEA-LETI technology was electrostatically modeled using Comsol MultiPhysics and Ansys Workbench. The developed models allowed to understand the electromechanical behavior of the phase shifter and was used for a new design of the phase shifter with an optimized performance. Finally, in order to develop the optimized devices using the in-house technology with the materials and methods available at the USP Microelectronics Laboratory (LME-USP), some critical stages of the fabrication process were studied.

Les antennes à pointage électronique présentent des avantages significatifs dans les systèmes de communication sans fil. Malgré cela elles ne sont toujours pas implantées dans l'industrie automobile. En effet, l'espace limité et le toit en grande partie métallique freinent l’utilisation de ces aériens dans ce contexte contraint. De nombreux défis restent à relever pour concevoir un système efficace, peu encombrant, faible coût et permettant de rayonner sur 360°. L’objectif de cette thèse est donc la mise au point d’une antenne à balayage électronique pour application automobile fonctionnant dans la bande LTE. Un système de «type MIMO » est proposé. Une antenne à résonateur diélectrique efficace, multi-bandes et efficace est conçue selon une procédure de développement spécifique. Un déphaseur accordable est également mis au point et réalisé. Il utilise des commutateurs et un condensateur variable. Un déphasage de 360 degrés est obtenu, le dispositif est commandé électriquement. L’antenne et le déphaseur sont ensuite associés dans un système complet fonctionnant dans la bande LTE. Celui-ci utilise deux antennes identiques, une seule étant alimentée. Ce système complet est mesuré seul et sur le véhicule. Les résultats obtenus sont prometteurs et permettent d’envisager, moyennant quelques améliorations, une exploitation industrielle. Les études menées pour aboutir à ce dispositif sont détaillées dans le manuscrit. / Even though beam steering technology has significant advantages in wireless communication systems, it is still not implemented in the automotive industry. Indeed, the limited space and the large metal sheet on the rooftop are the challenges for such system. This thesis is focused on the design of the LTE beam steering antenna based on a MIMO system for an automotive environment. An appropriate multiband, efficient and compact Dielectric Resonator Antenna is conceived using a specific development procedure. Also, a tunable phase shifter is designed and realized with switches and a variable capacitor. It has 360 degrees phase shift and can be electrically controlled. The proposed DRA and phase shifter are integrated in a global antenna system for automotive application in the LTE band. We finally propose a MIMO system with an active beam steering radiation pattern. It is very compact and can be implemented on the vehicle rooftop. Using the proposed phase shifter, a beam steering antenna is obtained with a global coverage close to 360� for the antenna alone or on the vehicle. Measurements are made in the using context of the antenna. Finally, the developed system is, with some improvement, powerful for powerful enough for "commercial" automotive applications. The studies carried out to develop this antenna are detailed in this manuscript.

Silicon photonics as a one of the most promising photonic integration technologies has attracted many attentions in recent years. The major feature of this technology is its compatibility with complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) processes which makes it possible to integrate optical and electronic devices in a same chip and reduce the cost significantly. Another reason of using silicon photonics is the high index contrast between the silicon core and silicon dioxide cladding which ensures the high density integration of photonic devices on a single chip. Monolithic integration with electronic and optical circuits makes silicon photonics technology suitable for numerous applications. One example is microwave photonics (MWP). MWP is an area that studies the interaction between microwave and optical signal for the generation, processing, control and distribution of microwave signals by means of photonics. Silicon photonics offers a reduction in footprint, losses, packaging cost and power dissipation in MWP systems. This research in this thesis is focused on the design and fabrication of the silicon photonic devices for MWP signal processing and generation. Four MWP systems based on silicon photonic devices are proposed and experimentally demonstrated. 1) A single pass-band frequency-tunable MWP filter based on phase-modulation to intensity-modulation conversion in an optically pumped silicon-on-insulator (SOI) microring resonator (MRR) is designed and experimentally demonstrated. In the proposed filter, a phase-modulated optical signal is filtered by the SOI MRR, to have one first-order sideband suppressed by the MRR notch. The phase-modulated optical signal is converted to an intensity-modulated single-sideband (SSB) signal and detected at a photodetector (PD). The entire operation is equivalent to a single pass-band filter. The frequency tunability is achieved by tuning the resonance wavelength of the MRR, which is realized by optically pumping the MRR. A single pass-band MWP filter with a tunable center frequency from 16 to 23 GHz is experimentally demonstrated. 2) A broadband optically tunable MWP phase shifter with a tunable phase shift using three cascaded SOI MRRs that are optically pumped is designed and experimentally demonstrated. A microwave signal to be phase shifted is applied to an optical single-sideband (OSSB) modulator to generate an optical carrier and an optical sideband. The phase shift is introduced to the optical carrier by placing the optical carrier within the bandwidth of one resonance of the three cascaded MRRs. The experimental results show that by optically pumping the cascaded MRRs, a broadband MWP phase shifter with a bandwidth of 7 GHz with a tunable phase shift covering the entire 360o phase shift range is achieved. 3) A multi tap MWP filter with positive and negative coefficients using a silicon ring resonator modulator (RRM) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The RRM is designed and fabricated to operate based on the carrier depletion effect. The positive and negative coefficients are obtained by using opposite slopes of the modulation transmission response of the RRM. Two filter responses with two and three taps are experimentally demonstrated, showing the proof-of-principle for frequencies up to 18 GHz. 4) An approach to generate microwave signal based on enhanced four wave mixing (FWM) in an active silicon waveguide (SiWG) is studied. This SiWG is designed and fabricated, and the use of the active SiWG for MWP frequency multiplication to generate a frequency-sextupled millimeter-wave signal is experimentally demonstrated. Thanks to a reverse-biased p-n junction across the SiWG, the conversion efficiency of the FWM is improved, which leads to the improvement of the microwave frequency multiplication efficiency.

This thesis deals with ultrasound blood flow meter design with emphasis on practical implementation of such device. This medical device is used in ultrasound diagnostic, especially for measuring direction and velocity of blood flow in superficial vessels. This thesis contains consecutive design including description of individual function blocks. Documents for making double-sided printed circuit are included as well.

This thesis contains design of beamforming network designed for passive radar antennas. The first part contains theory of passive radars and beamforming networks. The next part implies design of beamforming network at the block digram level. Then are choosed circuits for amplitude and phase control, including the design of control communication. It follows by realization of IQ phase shifter and his automatic measurement. Based on this results is phase shifter adjusted and PCB of 2x2 beamforming network is designed. Last part includes design of control application (Matlab) and control program for STM32F407VG microcontroller.

Dans un monde où l’information va de plus en plus vite, il est important de pouvoir rester connecté en permanence. De nouvelles solutions émergent pour connecter les passagers à bord d’un avion grâce aux communications par satellite. Parmi elles, on retrouve les antennes à pointage électronique dans lesquelles cette thèse de doctorat s’intègre. Une étude sur les différentes antennes existantes ou en projet est présentée. Les puces électroniques MMIC AsGa permettent d’appliquer des lois d’amplitude et de phase pour chaque élément rayonnant d’une antenne réseau. Cette thèse de doctorat porte sur la conception d’un déphaseur, après avoir étudié les technologies et les topologies de celui-ci. Ensuite, la conception d’un amplificateur faible bruit à gain variable est proposée à partir d’un état de l’art. Les résultats de simulation et de mesures de ces deux fonctions sont exposés. / In a world where the information is moving faster and faster, it is important to be able to stay connected continuously. Some new solutions for air transport connectivity are in development thanks to the rise of satellite communications. This thesis work is part of an electronically steerable antenna array project, developed as a solution to achieve In-Flight Connectivity in Ka-band. A state- of-the art review on electronically steerable antenna arrays is also presented. In these arrays, each radiating element needs a specific amplitude and phase to obtain a scanning beam by adding their contribution. This thesis focus on the design of a GaAs MMIC chip inclusion two functions: a phase shifter and a variable-gain low-noise amplifier. The simulation and measurement results are presented for these two functions.