A 125-GHz Permittivity Sensor With Read-Out Circuit in a 250-nm SiGe BiCMOS Technology

<?Pub Dtl?>In this paper, an integrated dielectric sensor with a read-out circuit in an unmodified SiGe BiCMOS technology at 125 GHz is presented. The sensor consists of a 500-<formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$\mu{\hbox {m}}$</tex></formula> shorted half-wave coplanar-waveguide transmission line in the uppermost metal layer of the silicon process, while the read-out is obtained by reflection coefficient measurement with an integrated reflectometer and a signal source. The reflectometer is verified with a circuit breakout including an integrated dummy sensor. The reflectometer is able to measure the phase of the reflection coefficient from 117 to 134 GHz with a resolution of 0.1<formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$^{\circ}$</tex></formula> and a standard deviation of 0.082<formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$^{\circ}$</tex> </formula>. The integrated sensor with the reflectometer circuit have been fabricated in a 190-GHz <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">${ f}_{ T}$</tex></formula> SiGe:C BiCMOS technology. It spans an area of 1.4 <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">${\hbox {mm}}^{2}$</tex></formula> and consumes 75 mA from a 3.3-V supply. The circuit has been assembled on a printed circuit board for characterization by immersion into test liquids. The sensor is controlled by a controller board and a personal computer enabling a measurement time of up to 1 ms per frequency point. Functionality of the sensor is demonstrated from 118 to 133 GHz with immersion of the sensor into different binary methanol–ethanol mixtures, showing good correlation between theory and measurement. The sensor shows a standard deviation of the measured phase of 0.220<formula formulatype="inline"> <tex Notation="TeX">$^{\circ}$</tex></formula> and is able to detect a difference in <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$\epsilon_{r}^{\prime}$</tex> </formula> of 0.0125.

[1]  Alvydas Lisauskas,et al.  A 0.65 THz Focal-Plane Array in a Quarter-Micron CMOS Process Technology , 2009, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[2]  Dietmar Kissinger,et al.  An integrated 125GHz Sensor with read-out circuit for permittivity measurement of liquids , 2012, 2012 IEEE/MTT-S International Microwave Symposium Digest.

[3]  I. Introductiok,et al.  The Generalized Multiprobe Reflectometer and Its Application to Automated Transmission Line Measurements , 1973 .

[4]  Dietmar Kissinger,et al.  A 122 GHz Multiprobe Reflectometer for Dielectric Sensor Readout in SiGe BiCMOS Technology , 2011, 2011 IEEE Compound Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Symposium (CSICS).

[5]  Marco Pirola,et al.  Design of a broadband multiprobe reflectometer , 1999, IEEE Trans. Instrum. Meas..

[6]  D. Knoll,et al.  High-performance BiCMOS technologies without epitaxially-buried subcollectors and deep trenches , 2006, 2006 International SiGe Technology and Device Meeting.

[7]  P. Bernard,et al.  Measurement of dielectric constant using a microstrip ring resonator , 1991 .

[8]  David Dubuc,et al.  Resonant based microwave biosensor for biological cells discrimination , 2010, 2010 IEEE Radio and Wireless Symposium (RWS).

[9]  B. Bocquet,et al.  Planar excitation of Goubau Transmission Lines for THz BioMEMS , 2005, IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters.

[10]  S.P. Voinigescu,et al.  165-GHz Transceiver in SiGe Technology , 2008, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[11]  T. Fujii,et al.  Integrated Broadband Microwave and Microfluidic Sensor Dedicated to Bioengineering , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques.

[12]  W. Weir.  Automatic measurement of complex dielectric constant and permeability at microwave frequencies , 1974 .

[13]  K. Aufinger,et al.  A 77GHz 4-channel automotive radar transceiver in SiGe , 2008, 2008 IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium.

[14]  Changjun Liu,et al.  A Microstrip Resonator With Slotted Ground Plane for Complex Permittivity Measurements of Liquids , 2008, IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters.

[15]  Dimitris Pavlidis,et al.  High frequency wideband permittivity measurements of biological substances using coplanar waveguides and application to cell suspensions , 2008, 2008 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium Digest.

[16]  A.L. Samuel,et al.  An Oscillographic Method of Presenting Impedances on the Reflection-Coefficient Plane , 1947, Proceedings of the IRE.

[17]  M. Kaynak,et al.  A 120 GHz Dielectric Sensor in SiGe BiCMOS , 2013, IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters.