Course syllabus

Course-PM

 EME110 Design of monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC) lp1 HT21 (7.5 hp)

Course is offered by the department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience

Contact details

• Examiner
  • Ast. Prof. Gregor Lasser (gregor.lasser@chalmers.se), tel. 031-772 4635
• Lectures
  
  • Ast. Prof. Gregor Lasser (gregor.lasser@chalmers.se), tel. 031-772 4635
  • Guest Lectures by Industry experts (to be confirmed)
• Lab Sessions
  
  • Rob Vissers (robvis@chalmers.se)
  • Ludwig Gustavsson  (ludwig.gustavsson@chalmers.se)

Course purpose

This course aims to give an understanding how monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) are designed and built including several techniques for analysing non-linear circuits and basic understanding of different technologies.

Content

• Fundamental IC processing flow
• Modeling of passive and active components and their importance for successful circuit design.
• Transmitter / Transceiver architectures.
• Circuit building blocks such as oscillators, mixers, frequency multipliers and dividers, low noise and power amplifiers of different classes.
• MMIC/RFIC-technologies based on silicon, GaAs, InP and widebandgap semiconductors.

Course literature

The course will provide the lecture notes as main reading material. Additional material will be provided through Canvas. The following list of books is non-madatory course material:

• I.D. Robertson and S. Lucyszyn: "RFIC and MMIC design and technology", IEEE 2001, ISBN 0 85296786 1
• S. Marsh: "Practical MMIC Design", Artech House 2006, ISBN-10: 1-59693-036-5
• R. Caverly: "CMOS RFIC Design Principles", Artech House 2007, ISBN-13: 978-1-59693-132-9
• M. Steer: "Microwave and RF Design", Scitech 2010, ISBN: 9781891121883
• J.Rogers and C. Plett: "Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit Design",Artech House 2003, ISBN: 1-58053-502-x

Course design

The course's learning activies are based on three pillars: lectures, five CAD lab sessions, and a MMIC design project. The goal of the lectures is to prepare students to design their own integrated circuit in a state-of-the-art GaAs MMIC process. In the lab sessions students will learn how use a commercial CAD tool (Keysight's Advanced Design System - ADS) in combination with a process design kit (PDK) to practically design a circuit. Finally, each student will work on a design project involving circuit design, layout, electromagnetic simulation, design rule check (DRC), and delivery of a complete design by the end of the course. Student designs with promising simulation results will be fabricated through WIN Semiconductors University program!

Communication in this course will be during lectures, and through Canvas announcements.

Required student resources: Access to a reasonably modern computer which allows installation of Chalmers student software - particularly Keysight ADS. In the lab sessions computers are provided but bringing your own laptop might be preferable.

Deadlines in this class will be announced early and are finite. Missing single lab sessions can be compensated by practicing the material at home by yourself.

Learning objectives and syllabus

Learning objectives:

• analyze the basic radio frequency circuit building blocks (low noise amplifiers, power amplifiers, frequency mixers, frequency multipliers and oscillators) for wireless communications systems.
• design and layout a MMIC by using professional CAE-tools.
• describe the research field and the present state-of-the-art for wireless transceiver designs up to the frequency limit of today's technology which is of the order 300GHz.
• write a manuscript for a scientific journal or conference.
• present orally the designed MMIC.

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen.

Study plan

Examination form

Required conditions to pass the class:

1. Attend and pass lab sessions
2. Design a MMIC circuit according to agreed specifications
3. Present your progress on MMIC in 5 minute presentation
4. Present your finished design at the mini conference
5. Turn in 4 page IEEE conference format paper + DRC clean gds file of your design + ADS source files by Oct. 29 23:59

Grading will be based on lab exams, a short presentation at the mini course conference where students present their design work and a 4-page conference style paper that describes the designed final circuit and layout. Weighting is 15% on the lab sessions, 15% on the presentation, 70% on the technical paper. Here both form (figure quality, text, references) as well as the technical quality of the design and discussion are graded.

Schedule

The lectures are given in the rooms according to the schedule (see below)

All CAD labs are given in computer room ED3354, floor 3, in EDIT building.