Optically Synchronized Phased Arrays in CMOS
Abstract
Optical synchronization of large-span arrays offers significant benefits over electrical methods in terms of the weight, cost, power dissipation, and complexity of the clock distribution network. This work presents the analysis and design of the first phased array transmitter synchronized using a fully monolithic CMOS optical receiver. We demonstrate a bulk CMOS, 8-element, 28-GHz phased array building block with an on-chip photodiode (PD) that receives and processes the optical clock and uses an integrated PLL to generate eight independent phase-programmable RF outputs. The system demonstrates beam steering, data transmission, and remote synchronization of array elements at 28 GHz with fiber lengths up to 25 m, in order to show the scaling benefits of our approach. The provision of small footprint and cost-effective CMOS transceivers with integrated optoelectronic receivers enables exciting opportunities for low-cost and ultralight array systems.
Additional Information
© 2022 IEEE. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Manuscript received April 28, 2021; revised August 27, 2021; accepted December 8, 2021. Date of publication January 19, 2022; date of current version May 26, 2022. This article was approved by Associate Editor David Stoppa. This work was supported by the Caltech SSPP Program. The authors would like to thank Muse Semiconductor for the invaluable input throughout the fabrication process and Keysight Technologies for the generous assistance with high-performance measurement instrumentation. They would also like to thank for the thorough and constructive feedback from the anonymous reviewers.Attached Files
Published - Optically_Synchronized_Phased_Arrays_in_CMOS.pdf
Files
Name | Size | Download all |
---|---|---|
md5:d9a823e9e0d8391880eb2687da9b6e40
|
5.1 MB | Preview Download |
Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 113047
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20220121-11752000
- Space Solar Power Project
- Created
-
2022-01-21Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
-
2022-06-28Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Space Solar Power Project