Millimeter-wave frequency reconfigurable beamforming front-end IC for 5G communication

Abstract

The rapidly increasing global demand for high-speed data communications in recent years has led to the launch of fifth-generation (5G) communication systems. In the 5G communication systems, multiple noncontiguous frequency range 2 (FR2) frequency bands, such as n257 (26.5–29.5 GHz) and n260 (37–40 GHz), have been allocated to the millimeter-wave frequency bands. Various 5G FR2 frequency bands have been assigned to different countries. Therefore, 5G mobile terminals that support multiple bands are highly required to support worldwide usage or international roaming service. In this dissertation, a millimeter-wave frequency reconfigurable dual-band beamforming front-end IC is proposed. The proposed front-end IC integrates a power amplifier and vector summing type variable-gain phase shifter, which have frequency reconfigurable structures to cover dual bands. Also, dual-band variable-gain LNA and dual-band switches are integrated.