CharmIC: D-Band CMOS Transceiver Modules for Wideband Communication and Imaging

This talk will discuss the design of “CharmIC”, 28nm CMOS transceiver ICs packaged together into a module designed for fully digital beamforming MIMO systems. The Charm module can handle 16 RF Rx/Tx channels, and many modules can be tiled to build larger arrays. Each module houses four ICs, and each IC contains four transceivers with integrated Rx, Tx, and LO/PLL. The topside RF interfaces directly to on-package antenna arrays for the Rx and Tx, and wideband I/Q signals are fanned-out to the module backside. The IC is co-designed with the package to ensure low-loss chip-to-package transitions, and wideband I/Q interfaces. Preliminary measurements of over-the-air measured RF performance, and full Rx/Tx link performance of the module will be highlighted.