Transmitter Linearization by Beamforming

Millimeter-wave transmitters designed for dense signal constellations must deal with severe linearity-efficiency trade-offs. This paper proposes a method of blending beamforming and linearization that reduces the number of power amplifiers and avoids the loss of on-chip transformers. Two constant-envelope beams are combined in space to deliver a variable-envelope signal, relaxing the linearity of transmitters. A dual-transmitter prototype fabricated in 65-nm CMOS technology and designed for the 60-GHz band produces a 16QAM output of +9.7 dBm with 11% efficiency.

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