A Multiband/Multistandard 15-57 GHz Receive Phased-Array Module Based on 4 x 1 Beamformer IC and Supporting 5G NR FR2 Operation

This work presents a 15-57 GHz multiband/multistandard phased-array architecture for the fifth-generation (5G) new radio (NR) frequency range 2 (FR2) bands. An eight-element phased-array receive module is demonstrated based on two four-channel wideband beamformer chips designed in the SiGe BiCMOS process and flipped on a low-cost printed circuit board. The SiGe Rx chip employs RF beamforming and is designed to interface to a wideband differential Vivaldi antenna array. Each channel consists of a low-noise amplifier (LNA), active phase shifter with 5-bit resolution, variable gain amplifier (VGA), and differential-to-single-ended stage. The four channels are combined using a wideband two-stage on-chip Wilkinson network. The beamformer has a peak electronic gain of 24-25 dB and a 4.7-6.2 dB noise figure (NF) with a -29 to -24 dBm input P im at 20-40 GHz. The eight-element phased-array module also achieved ultra-wideband frequency response with flat gain and low-system NF. The phased array scans +/- 55 degrees with <-12-dB sidelobes demonstrating multiband operation. A 1.2-m over-the-air (OTA) link measurement using the eight-element Rx module supports 400-MHz 256-QAM OFDMA modulation with <2.76% error vector magnitude (EVM) at multiple 5G NR FR2 hands. To the author's knowledge, this work achieves the widest bandwidth phased array enabling the construction of multistandard systems.