Proceedings of the 48th European Microwave Conference

300-GHz CMOS Receiver Module with WR-3.4

Waveguide Interface
S. Hara1, K. Takano2, K. Katayama2, R. Dong2, K. Mizuno3, K. Takahashi3, I. Watanabe1, N. Sekine1, A. Kasamatsu1,
T. Yoshida2, S. Amakawa2, and M. Fujishima2
1
Advanced ICT Research Institute, National Institute of Information and Communication, Japan
2
Graduate School of Advanced Science and Matter, Hiroshima University, Japan
3
Automotive & Industrial Systems Company, Panasonic Corporation
s-hara@nict.go.jp

Abstract — A 300-GHz CMOS receiver module with a WR- (LTCC) substrate for 300 GHz [5]. The design utilized a
3.4 waveguide interface is presented. The CMOS receiver is flip- vertical hollow waveguide with a back-short structure located
chip mounted on a low-cost multilayered glass epoxy printed inside a multilayer LTCC board. More recently, the details of
circuit board (PCB). A transmission-line-to-waveguide transition transmission-line-to-waveguide transition with a back-short
with a back-short structure is built into the PCB. The measured
conversion gain, noise figure, and 3-dB bandwidth of the receiver
structure built directly into a glass epoxy printed circuit board
module are approximately −23.7 dB, 33 dB and 18.4 GHz, (PCB) were reported [8], wherein the CMOS TX chip was
respectively. Packaging loss is estimated to be approximately mounted onto the PCB using flip-chip bonding. Glass epoxy is
4 dB from the conversion gain of the CMOS chip of −19.5 dB. A more suitable for mass production than LTCC due to its low
wireless data rate of 20 Gbit/s with 16-QAM was achieved using cost, despite having a higher loss tangent than LTCC.
the designed modules. Although the TX module that utilized the multilayered glass
Keywords — CMOS, terahertz wave, receiver module, epoxy PCB showed somewhat higher packaging losses, it
waveguide transition, 300-GHz band. achieved a high wireless data rate of 48 Gbit/s.
I. INTRODUCTION
The currently unallocated terahertz (THz) frequencies
above 275 GHz have been considered as a promising platform
for ultrahigh-speed broadband wireless communications [1,2].
The physical-layer challenges that lie ahead include not only
the design of THz transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX)
integrated circuits but also their packaging. Recently, a 300-
GHz Si CMOS RX was reported, which operated above the
unity-power-gain frequency, ݂୫ୟ୶ , of the NMOSFET [3]. The
RX, together with a CMOS TX [4], achieved a wireless data
rate of 32 Gbit/s with 16QAM in 300-GHz band. However,
the experiment was performed by using a WR-3.4 waveguide
probe, without packaging the RX chip. For practical use, the
CMOS RX chip must be packaged and modularized.
To compensate for relatively high atmospheric propagation
losses at such high frequencies, the size of antennas used for
wireless communications must be large. A rectangular
waveguide interface offers the possibility of using a choice of
high-gain antennas and off-chip amplifiers. However, realizing
direct transition from a chip to a waveguide is difficult, it
requires precise cutting and back-grinding of a chip is required.
It seems an ideal and simple method for THz CMOS
technology that a mounted chip is connected with a waveguide
transition on a board.
In recent years, active development of packaging
techniques for THz electronics have been undertaken [5]–[7].
A microstrip-to-waveguide transition has been reportedly Fig. 1. Structure of (a) the RX module PCB and (b) a close-up view of the
integrated in a multilayer low-temperature co-fired ceramics waveguide transition at the center. (c) Photo of the receiver module.

978-2-87487-051-4 © 2018 EuMA 396 25–27 Sept 2018, Madrid, Spain

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 This study presents the performance characteristics of a
CMOS RX module with a CMOS-chip-to-waveguide
transition integrated into a low-cost multilayered glass epoxy
PCB.

II. 300-GHZ CMOS RECEIVER MODULE

Figure 1(a) illustrates the layer structure of the glass epoxy
PCB for the designed RX module. The configuration is similar
to that of the previously described CMOS TX module [8].
Gold stud bumps with a flip-chip bonding mechanism were
used to mount the CMOS RX chip underneath a WR-3.4
waveguide flange near the center of the PCB. The local-
oscillator (LO) signal, at a frequency of approximately
50 GHz, can be supplied from an external source via a coaxial
connector that is mounted on the south edge of the PCB (not
shown in Fig. 1(a)). This LO signal is first upconverted into
Fig. 2. Reflection coefficients of the RF port of the module and the bare chip.
approximately 300 GHz via a 6× multiplier chain and Solid line corresponds to the simulated result using a more precise simulation
subsequently fed to the downconversion mixer in the CMOS model identified after fabrication.
RX chip. The intermediate-frequency (IF) signal at the
frequency of several GHz, which is downconverted by the III. MEASUREMENT RESULTS
mixer, leaves the PCB via coaxial connectors mounted on the A vector network analyzer (VNA) was used to measure the
north PCB’s edge. Grounded coplanar waveguides (GCPWs) signal downconverted by the 300-GHz CMOS RX module.
are used for the signal paths between the coaxial connectors The RF signal, generated by the VNA with a WR-3.4-band
and stud bumps. A magnified view of the GCPW-to- frequency extender, and was thereupon supplied to the RX
rectangular-waveguide transition is shown in Fig. 1(b). Herein, module via a one-inch-long straight WR-3.4 waveguide with
the pads for the 300-GHz radio frequency (RF) signal are 75- an insertion loss of approximately 1 dB. The LO1/6 signal at a
μm-pitch ground-signal-ground (GSG) pads, and the height of frequency around 50 GHz was supplied from a signal
the bumps is about 20 μm. The GCPW-to-waveguide generator. One of the differential IF output ports was
transition has a vertical hollow cut into the PCB’s four metal terminated with a 50-Ω load. Measured and simulated
layers, serving as a back-short. The ideal design depth for the reflection coefficients at the RF port of the RX module are
back-short structure is λ⁄4, where λ represents the RF signal shown in Fig. 2. A subsequent post-fabrication simulation was
wavelength. Considering the nominal relative permittivity of performed using a more precise model than a pre-fabrication
the glass epoxy board at 10 GHz and together with the counterpart and shows fairly good agreement with the
restriction on the feasible depths by the multilayered structure, measured reflection coefficient of the RX module. Given the
the depth of 135 μm was selected for the back-short structure fact that the reflection coefficient of the module is
in the studied module. An electromagnetic (EM) field significantly higher than that of the bare chip, the performance
simulation was conducted using ANSYS HFSS, which of the RX module could be improved if the result of the post-
resulted in a nominal glass epoxy loss tangent of 0.0076 at
10 GHz, indicating that the insertion loss of the near-λ⁄4
waveguide (back-short) is approximately 0.08 dB at 300 GHz.
The dimensions of the rectangular probe, comprising the
PCB’s top metal layer in Fig 1(b) (shown in red), were
selected to achieve an impedance matching the impedance
induced between the transmission line (GCPW) and the WR-
3.4 rectangular waveguide. The dimensions of the vertical
hollow waveguide cross section were similarly adjusted for
impedance matching, resulting in dimensions that were 0.8
times the inner dimensions of the WR-3.4 waveguide. The
results of the EM field simulation of the GCPW-to-waveguide
transition also showed that the value of S21 is −0.23 dB and
that S11 and S22 stay below −10 dB over a 45-GHz
bandwidth. Figure 1(c) shows a photo of the RX module after
the completion of assembly.

Fig. 3. Measured output power and conversion gain of the RX module and
bare chip with an IF output as a function of RF input power. The RF
frequency was 291 GHz. The LO1/6 signal was applied at 48.3 GHz and 2 dBm
power.

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 frequency was 291 GHz, and the LO1/6 was at 48.3 GHz and
its power was 2 dBm. The peak conversion gain was about –
23.7 dBm. This result indicates that a packaging loss of about
4 dB, as the bare CMOS chip had an output RF power of
−19.5 dBm. Figure 4 shows the frequency response of the
conversion gain and noise figure (NF) of the module and bare
chip. The RF power was –15 dBm, and the LO1/6 signal was
the same as in Fig. 3. The 3-dB bandwidth of the module was
about 18.4 GHz. Compared with the result of the bare chip,
the conversion gain of the module decreased sharply at the
frequency above 300 GHz. The NF of the module was about
33 dB, which is higher than that of bare chip by 6 dB. The
deterioration of the NF was slightly larger than that of the
conversion gain by 2 dB. A possible reason is a measurement
error due to calibration fault of the NF measurement system.

Fig. 4. (a) Conversion gain and (b) noise figure of the RX module and bare
chip as a function of RF frequency. The RF power was –15 dBm and LO1/6
power was 2 dBm at 48.3 GHz.

fabrication simulation is reflected to future design of a

waveguide transition.
The measured output power and conversion gain as a
function of the input RF power is shown in Fig. 3. The RF

Fig. 6. Measured error-vector magnitude of (a) QPSK and (b) 16QAM as a

function of distance.

Table 1. Signal constellations, distance, error-vector magnitudes, symbol

rates, and data rates with a maximum transition distance and highest data rate
with BER of below 10-4.
QPSK 16QAM
Constellation

Distance 75 cm 10 cm
Fig. 5. (a) Conversion gain and (b) noise figure of the RX module and bare
EVM 25.7%rms 12.2%rms
chip vs RF frequency. The RF power was −15 dBm. The LO1/6 power was BER 5.1 × 10−5 2.2 × 10−5
2 dBm at 48.3 GHz. Sym. rate 1 Gbaud 5 Gbaud
Data rate 2 Gb/s 20 Gb/s

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Another possibility is that the source impedance shifted in
such a way that the NF was affected more than the conversion
gain.
Figure 5 shows the measurement setup for evaluating the
wireless performance of the RX module. A TX module
capable of upconverting a 48-Gbit/s QAM signal to the RF
frequency around 300 GHz was used [8]. A pair of WR-3.4
standard horn antennas with a gain of 24 dBi were used. The
received RF signal at a center frequency of 294 GHz was fed
to the RX module via the horn antenna. A downconverted
lower sideband (LSB) signal at a center frequency of 6 GHz
was measured using a vector signal analyzer via an external
baseband (BB) amplifier with a gain of about 30 dB. The RX
module was put on a sliding mount on a guide rail for
examining the distance dependence. Figure 6 shows the
measured error-vector magnitude (EVM) of QPSK and
16QAM as a function of the distance. The EVMs increased
proportionally at the distances of above 20 cm, which
appeared to be a boundary of the antenna’s near and far field.
The highest data rate and maximum transmission distance
with BER of below 10-4 were 20 Gbit/s with 16-QAM at the
distance of 10 cm and 75 cm at a data rate of 2 Gbit/s with
QPSK, respectively (shown in Table 1).
[4] K. Takano, K. Katayama, S. Amakawa, T. Yoshida, and M. Fujishima,
“56-Gbit/s 16-QAM wireless link with 300-GHz-band CMOS
transmitter,” in Proc. 2017 IEEE MTT-S Int. Microwave Symp.,
Honolulu, HI, pp. 1–4, Jun. 2017.
[5] T. Tajima, H.-J. Song, and M. Yaita, “Design and analysis of LTCC-
integrated planar microstrip-to-waveguide transition at 300 GHz,”
IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech., vol. 64, no. 1, pp. 106–114, Jan.
2016.
[6] H.-J. Song, “Packages for Terahertz Electronics”, in Proc. IEEE,
vol. 105, pp. 1121–1138, Jun. 2017.
[7] I. Kallfass, I. Dan, S. Rey, P. Harati, J. Antes, A. Tessmann, S. Wagner,
M. Kuri, R. Weber, H. Massler, A. Leuther, T. Merkle, and T. Kürner,
“Towards MMIC-based 300 GHz indoor wireless communication
systems,” IEICE Trans. Electron., vol. E98-C, no. 12, pp. 1081–1090,
Dec. 2015.
[8] K. Takano, K. Katayama, S. Hara, R. Dong, K. Mizuno, K. Takahashi,
A. Kasamatsu, T. Yoshida, S. Amakawa, and M. Fujishima, “300-GHz
CMOS transmitter module with built-in waveguide transition on a
multilayered glass epoxy PCB,” IEEE Radio Wireless Symp., pp. 154–
156, Jan. 2018.
[9] N. M. Ridler and R. A. Ginley, “A review of the IEEE 1785 standards
for rectangular waveguides above 110 GHz,” 89th ARFTG Conf.,
pp. 1–4, Jun. 2017.

IV. CONCLUSION
This study presents the design and analysis of a 300-GHz
CMOS RX module with a CMOS-chip-to-waveguide
transition built into a multilayered glass epoxy PCB. The
CMOS RX chip was mounted on the PCB using a gold stud
bump flip-chip bonding method. A back-short structure was
used for the transmission-line-to-waveguide transition, and
constructed using a vertical hollow waveguide structure inside
the four-layer PCB. The measured conversion gain, NF, and 3-
dB bandwidth of the receiver module are −23.7 dB, 33 dB,
and 18.4 GHz, respectively. A wireless data rate of 20 Gbit/s
was achieved using the modules with 16-QAM. Possible
performance improvements for the RX module could be
achieved using post-fabrication information obtained from the
simulation results. Additionally, the use of waveguide flange
with an improved design [9] could give better performance
and measurement repeatability.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work was supported by R&D on wireless transceiver
systems with CMOS technology in 300GHz band, as part of
an R&D program for key technology in terahertz frequency
bands by the Ministry of Internal Affair and Communications
of Japan.

REFERENCES
[1] T. Kürner, IEEE 802.15-10-0320-02-0000-Tutorial_Igthz.
[2] M. Fujishima and S. Amakawa, “Integrated-circuit approaches to THz
communications: Challenges, advances, and future prospects,” IEICE
Trans. Fundamentals, vol. E100-A, no. 2, pp. 516–523, Feb. 2017.
[3] S. Hara, K. Katayama, K. Takano, R. Dong, I. Watanabe, N. Sekine, A.
Kasamatsu, T. Yoshida, S. Amakawa, and M. Fujishima, “A 32Gbit/s
16QAM CMOS receiver in 300GHz band,” in Proc. 2017 IEEE MTT-S
Int. Microwave Symp., Honolulu, HI, pp. 1–4, Jun. 2017.

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