A Coupled-RTWO-Based Subharmonic Receiver Front End for 5G $E$ -Band Backhaul Links in 28-nm Bulk CMOS

An <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$E$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-band direct-conversion subharmonic receiver (SHRX) is designed exploring a coupled-rotary-traveling-wave-oscillator-based (coupled-RTWO-based) architecture. Distributed oscillators are leveraged to generate <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N=8$ </tex-math></inline-formula> differential phases at <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$f_{\mathrm{ LO}}=f_{\mathrm{ RF}}/4$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. Current-mode passive mixers (MXs) are adopted to enable <1-V supply operation and greatly simplify the layout. An inductively degenerated neutralized common source (DCS) low-noise amplifier (LNA) is embedded in a fourth-order transformer-based matching network to allow broadband impedance scaling and high reverse isolation. Implemented in a 28-nm bulk CMOS technology without ultra-thick top metal option, the realized prototype outperforms prior reported CMOS designs in terms of phase noise, figure of merit (FOM), and tuning range. The SHRX front end achieves 8.3-dB noise figure (NF), 12.5 GHz −3-dB RF bandwidth (BW), and −25-dBm ICP<sub>1 dB</sub>, while consuming <100 mW.

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