Unlicensed Millimeter Wave Communications

A New Opportunity for MMIC Technology at 60 GHz

Rory L. Van Tuyl

Hewlett-Packard Laboratories
Solid-state Technology Laboratory
Palo Alto, CA

ABSTRACT industry in the case of broadband communications - that have

A recent FCC decision has opened the largest contiguous band- shaped US.spectrum policy over the last year. Auto radar is
width in history, 59-64 GHz, for non-government unlicensed now approved for operation at 46 and 76 GHz, and broadband
wireless communications. Emerging commercial applications in communications can look forward to a home between 59 and
this band will require inexpensive MMICs and low-cost packag-
ing. Will technology be up to the challenge? 64 GHz, in the Oxygen Absorption Band.2 This band is the
subject of worldwide regulatory attention:
INTRODUCTION
Oxygen Band
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on 15
Dec., 1995 set aside the entire 59-64 GHz frequency band for
unlicensed applications.’ For the first time in the U.S., it will
be legal to transmit millimeter waves above 40 GHz for non-
government uses. This 5 GHz of unlicensed contiguous
bandwidth allocated by the FCC offers an unprecedented
opportunity for very high bandwidth wireless applications,
such as short-haul point-to-point data links, high data rate
Wireless LANs, wireless connections to (and within) homes,
digital video links, and position sensors.
For these wireless applications to become pervasive, how-
ever, they must become cost competitive. MMIC fabrication
costs of a few dollars per square millimeter should be ade-
quate, provided that an inexpensive chip packaging and inter-
connection system can be developed.

THEWORLD OF REGULATIONS
Increasingly, the livelihoods of those who design and man-
ufacture GaAs ICs are moving away from reliance on Depart-
ment of Defense dollars and toward dependence on Federal
Communications Commission decisions. The “Wireless Rev- Oxygen Band 0 ;sTransmti
olution” our industry is presently experiencing had its roots in Figure 1. International Regulatory Status of Oxygen Absorption Band
decisions made years ago by the FCC and its counterpart
agencies in other countries. Cellular phones and PCS are the
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is taking
two highest-profile examples of FCC spectrum allocations,
the lead in two areas: auctioning spectrum for licensed use to
and in the latter case, the communications industry was
bidding consortia, and giving spectrum away free to the gen-
charged billions of dollars at Federal auction for the privilege
eral public. In the U.S., this general unlicensed spectrum
of obtaining licenses to operate.
comes with few rules to hamper innovation (or to protect
Normally, the communications industry takes the lead in
against interference). In the U.S., unlike in Europe and Japan,
requesting spectrum policy. But in the case of millimeter
general unlicensed spectrum such as the 59-64 GHz band is
waves, it was requests by manufacturers - the auto equipment
not earmarked for officially-approved applications only.
industry in the case of vehicular radar, and the computer

1. See: FCC Report & Order 95-499. Available on-line from: ftp:// 2. Between 56 and 64 GHz, atmospheric oxygen attenuates electromagnetic
ftp.fcc.gov./publsurauslEngineerin~Technology/Orders[select
fcc95499.txt (text) or fcc95499.w~(Wordperfect)]. waves by as little as 7 dB and as much as 15 dB per kilometer at sea level.

0-7803-3504-X/96 $5.00 0 1996 IEEE GaAs IC Symposium 3 -

 The 59-64 GHz band was regarded as “Desert Property”
by the FCC, and was therefore released for unfenced grazing
in 1995. However, the FCC has set aside a year (1996) for an
industry committee - the Millimeter Wave Communications
Working Group - to propose additional rules for taming this
“Wild West” radio spectrum. After that, it’s up to technology.
LIMITED
RANGE,
UNLIMITED
APPLICATIONS
What good is all this spectrum, anyway? One thing it’s not
good for is long-range communication. Oxygen absorption
confines propagation distances to the order of a kilometer
with the 10 Watt Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power [EIRP]
limit set by the FCC3 The good side of this is that interfer-
ence range is also limited, so that frequencies can be reused
over short ranges.
Antenna -vs-Distance
from the Transmitterfor
EIRP= 1OW
Frequency = 60 GHz
10m lOOm lkm
Distance
Figure 2. Propagation of 60 GHz Signals in the Atmosphere
Perhaps the most frequently-mentioned application for such
range-limited waves is indoor Wireless LANs. However,
short-range outdoor applications are possible as well. The fact
that no license is required, coupled with the complete absence
of constraint on what the applications must be, suggests that
users, rather than central planners, will determine the applica-
tions for 60 GHz radios.
A perennial problem for radio has been the huge differential
between gigabit-per-second optical fiber data rates and the
kilobits- to megabits-per-second rates possible with wireless.
This “data rate gap” might be breachable in the 5 GHz of
spectrum allocated at 59-64 GHz. Since bandwidth is not
severely restricted, simple 2-level modulations like BPSK or
FSK could be employed initially, with relatively simple hard-
ware. More complex modulations, such as Orthogonal Fre-
~~ ~~ ~
3. EIRP is equivalent to [Transmit Power]x[Antenna Gain].
4 - GaAs IC Symposium
quency Division Multiplexing - a type of modulation capable
of overcoming multipath propagation - have already been
demonstrated in a 27 Mbit/sec millimeter wave wireless LAN
prototype [11.
The distinguishing attribute of the 59-64 GHz band is
clearly its ability to handle a large number of broadband data
streams simultaneously. If technical and economic hurdles
can be overcome, we expect that broadband applications will
find a home in this band, and that robust data links capable of
carrying hundreds of megabits per second [e.g. ATM] will
become commonplace. Is there a set of technologies that can
make this all happen?
Is TECHNOLOGY UP To THECHALLENGE?
At lower RF frequencies, such as 900 MHz, miniature dis-
crete components surface-mounted on PC boards do an ade-
quate job and can be manufactured cheaply offshore. Hence,
there is little incentive for monolithic integration except for
such components as synthesizer prescalers which can not be
built in discrete form. For applications at higher RF frequen-
cies, such as 12 GHz for DBS, monolithic parts combine with
discrete LNAs to do an adequate job at low cost. However, in
the 59-64 GHz band the fully-monolithic approach is the only
economically viable alternative for commercial products.
Fortunately, GaAs FET technology has evolved over the past
two decades to the point where GaAs MMICs for millimeter
wave frequencies are now practical:
100-200
t InGaAs HEMT
InGaAdAlInAs
n 111-V Fet Evolution
1970s 1990s -
I
-
Early 1990s
GaAs pHEMT
50-100
10 km
fT
[GHzI
20-50
10-20
0:1 0.‘25 0:s 1 .b
Gate Length (ym)
Figure 3 Today’s E T technology IS 10 times faster than in the 1970s
Millimeter Wave MMIC s are now pracucal
Modern FETs achieve their high bandwidth by a combination
of short gatelength and InGaAs channels (more Indium gives
greater bandwidth). Designers today can choose between
“low-noise’’ processes (those using 53% Indium InGaAs
channels, grown on either InP or GaAs substrates), and
“power” processes (those with 22% Indium InGaAs channels,
grown on GaAs substrates). The “low-noise” processes fea-
ture FETs with fT >150 GHz, noise figures <I dB at 60 GHz,
drain voltages of 1-1.5 V, and limited (-20 mW) output power
[2]. The “power” processes yield FETs with fT =75 GHz,
operate with drain biases of 3-5 V, and deliver >lo0 mW of
power at 60 GHz [3].
FCC rules allow 10 Watts of EIRP in the 59-64 GHz
band. This means that a 10 mW transmitter (which is possible
with a “low noise” process) working with a 30 dB gain
antenna, would operate at the legal power limit. Likewise, a
100 mW transmitter (which would require a “power” pro-
cess), would transmit at the legal power limit with a 20 dB
gain antenna.
Though, it seems that the basic device technology is at hand
for building practical applications in the 59-64 GHz band, the
question remains: “can sufficient circuit complexity be
achieved at a low enough cost?’ GaAs FETs can now be
monolithically integrated using coplanar waveguide intercon-
nects to produce 59-64 GHz MMICs of medium complexity,
such as the divide-by-four prescaler shown below [4]:
Figure 4. This HEMT MMIC, designed by HP and fabricated by Hughes
Research is reported elsewhere in this digest. The 1.7 x 1.1 mm chip is
typical of state-of-the-art MMICs with coplanar interconnects. This circuit
is a divide-by-4 prescaler usable in the 59-64 GHz band.
[Photo courtesy of Chris J. Madden, HP Laboratories].
This MMIC, realized with a “low noise” process, contains
10 FETs, with total gate periphery in excess of 750pm, thin-
film capacitors and epi resistors. The absence of backside vias
promises lower manufacturing cost for this type of MMIC,
but e-beam gate lithography used for gate fabrication will
somewhat offset this cost savings. Nonetheless, we should be
able to expect MMICs for 59-64 GHz applications which cost
less than $10 per square millimeter. Therefore, the challenge
for designers has now become: “How do we get a 60 GHz
radio onto a single chip?’ Time will tell.
But MMICs are only part of the story. Low-cost assemblies
are needed. How can these circuits be packaged cheaply
enough to make wireless applications affordable? Coplanar
wirebond interconnects between chips are surprisingly low-
loss at 60 GHz [ 5 ] , and multichip module technologies could
well accommodate millimeter wave components along with
I.F. and baseband circuits [6]. That leaves the problem of
coupling signals to and from the millimeter-wave modules.
Fortunately, the outlook is bright here as well: miniature
antennas - either on-chip or off-chip - will allow for direct
coupling to free space, thereby making expensive millimeter
wave connectors unnecessary. Simple antennas are short
enough to become part of a MMIC chip, and radiation to and
from MMPC chips can be handled inexpensively and com-
pactly. Furthermore, directional antennas for this band are
practical in size: radiating apertures of approximately 1 inch
diameter can accomodate a 20 dB gain antenna at 60 GHz [7].
Combining MMIC chips and radiating structures into a low
cost package seems a real possibility - one which promises to
open the door to commercial applications in the 59-64 GHz
band.
CONCLUSION
Recent FCC decisions allow commercial use of the 59-64
GHz band today, without license, and with no restrictions
placed on the type of applications. Propagation distances in
this band are short, so long-range communication is not pos-
sible, but neither is long-range interference a problem.
Today’s MMIC technology seems well suited to the challenge
of producing low-cost RF modules for the 59-64 GHz band,
and miniature antennas offer low-cost connections to free
space. After years of exile in the world of gold-plated hard-
ware, millimeter waves at last seem poised to flourish in com-
mercial and consumer applications.
REFERENCES
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Computing - Architecture and Prototype ModemlCodec Implementation,”
IEEE Hot Interconnects 96 Symposium Digest, August, 1996.
[2] Nguyen, L. et al., “Ultra-High-speed Modulation-Doped Field-Effect
Transistors: A Tutorial Review,” Proc. IEEE, April, 1992, pp. 494-518.
[3] Sharma, A., et al., “Millimeter-Wave High Power Amplifiers Using
Pseudomorphic HEMTs,” 1994 IEEE MTT-S Conference Digest, pp. 813-
816.
[4] Madden, C., et al., “A Novel 75 GHz InP HEMT Dynamic Divider,”
1996 GaAs IC Symposium Digest [in this volume].
[SI Krems, T., et al., “Millimeter-Wave Performance of Chip Interconnec-
tions Using Wire Bonding and Flip Chip,” International Microwave Sympo-
sium Digest, 1996, vol. 1, pp. 247-250.
[6] Cooper, P., et al., “Multichip-on-Flex Plastic Encapsulated MHDI-Low
Cost Substrateless Manufacturing For Microwave and Millimeterwave Mod-
ules,” International Microwave Symposium Digest, 1996, vol. 1, pp. 219-
222.
[7] Rutledge, D., et al., “Chapter 1: Integrated-Circuit Antennas,” in Infrared
andMillimeter Waves, vol. 10, Academic Press, 1983.
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