22-29GHz CMOS pulse generator for ultra-wideband radar application

The pseudo-millimeter-wave ultra-wideband (UWB) is attractive for applications in short-range automotive radar systems using 22 to 29GHz in order to realize road safety and intelligent transportation. Although CMOS is suitable for the short-range radar since processing units can be implemented in the same chip with the UWB front-end building block, it is difficult to operate CMOS pulse generators at such a high frequency. To realize the pseudo-millimeter-wave band using CMOS, we have proposed a new pulse generator consisting of a series of delay cells and edge combiners with waveform shaping. As a result of measurement using 90nm CMOS technology, 1Gbps/bit pulses are successfully generated with a power consumption of 1.4mW at a supply voltage of 0.91V. This result will be the key technology for a one-chip short-range radar system.