The research presented covers the theory and design of feedback-driven matching networks for radio frequency power amplifiers. The study examines amplifier classifications, types of tunable components, feedback typologies, and control systems to achieve the desired operation. The work centers on designing and implementing a tunable matching network for an amplifier's input and output. The tunable systems provide the amplifier with a wide range of operational frequencies at reasonable power levels comparable to today's modern communication systems and produce millisecond-based tuning times. Simulated results are verified against a fabricated system prototype and tweaked to provide further insight into the design's operation.

Compared to current single-standard radio solutions, multi-standard radio transceivers enable higher integration, backward compatibility and save power, area and cost. The primary bottleneck in their realization is the development of high-performance frequency-reconfigurable RF circuits. To that end, this research introduces several CMOS-integrated, transformer-based reconfigurable circuit techniques whose effectiveness is validated through measurements of designed transceiver front-end low-noise (LNA) and power amplifier (PA) prototypes. In the first part, the use of high figure-of-merit phase-change (PC) based RF switches in the reconfiguration of CMOS LNAs in the receiver front-end is proposed. The first reported demonstration of an integrated, PC-switch based, dual-band (3/5 GHz) reconfigurable CMOS LNA with transformer source degeneration and designed in a 0.13 μm process is presented. In the second part, a frequency-reconfigurable CMOS transformer combiner is introduced that can be reconfigured to have similar efficiencies at widely separated frequency bands. A 65-nm CMOS triple-band (2.5/3/3.5 GHz) PA employing the reconfigurable combiner was designed. In the final part of this work, the use of transformer coupled-resonators in mm-wave LNA designs for 28 GHz bands was investigated. To cover contiguous and/or widely-separated narrowband channels of the emerging 5G standards, a 65-nm CMOS 24.9-32.7 GHz wideband multi-mode LNA using one-port transformer coupled-resonators was designed. Finally, a 25.1-27.6 GHz tunable-narrowband digitally-calibrated merged LNA-vector modulator design employing transformer coupled-resonators is presented that proposes a compact, differential quadrature generation scheme for phased-array architectures.

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.

No description available.