TY - GEN
T1 - A Ka-Band VGA and Its Application to Four-Element Beamforming IC for LEO Satellite Communication
AU - Song, Hyeonwon
AU - Lee, Wonseob
AU - Lee, Mingyu
AU - Kim, Hyungju
AU - Wang, Seunghun
AU - Lee, Hui Dong
AU - Park, Bonghyuk
AU - Lee, Seungchan
AU - Park, Jinseok
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 IEEE.
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - A Ka-band variable gain amplifier (VGA), fabricated using a 65 nm CMOS process, is presented for beamforming integrated circuits (ICs) supporting low earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication systems. The proposed VGA employs a two-stage architecture comprising a variable gain stage and a buffer stage. The variable gain stage utilizes a Gilbert-cell topology, chosen for its structural robustness against phase errors during gain control. The buffer stage is implemented using a common-source amplifier with neutralization capacitors, which ensures adequate gain and output power. The VGA is integrated into a common node of the four-element beamforming IC to provide additional gain control range and to correct offset gain errors between ICs in a multi-chip phased array module. The VGA achieves a 13 dB gain control range with a root mean square (RMS) phase error of less than 0.94° across the 26.5 to 30.5 GHz frequency range.
AB - A Ka-band variable gain amplifier (VGA), fabricated using a 65 nm CMOS process, is presented for beamforming integrated circuits (ICs) supporting low earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication systems. The proposed VGA employs a two-stage architecture comprising a variable gain stage and a buffer stage. The variable gain stage utilizes a Gilbert-cell topology, chosen for its structural robustness against phase errors during gain control. The buffer stage is implemented using a common-source amplifier with neutralization capacitors, which ensures adequate gain and output power. The VGA is integrated into a common node of the four-element beamforming IC to provide additional gain control range and to correct offset gain errors between ICs in a multi-chip phased array module. The VGA achieves a 13 dB gain control range with a root mean square (RMS) phase error of less than 0.94° across the 26.5 to 30.5 GHz frequency range.
KW - CMOS
KW - Ka-band
KW - LEO satellite communication
KW - phase-invariant design
KW - variable gain amplifier
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105034604460
U2 - 10.1109/RFIT65667.2025.11364590
DO - 10.1109/RFIT65667.2025.11364590
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:105034604460
T3 - 2025 IEEE International Symposium on Radio-Frequency Integration Technology, RFIT 2025 - Proceedings
SP - 100
EP - 102
BT - 2025 IEEE International Symposium on Radio-Frequency Integration Technology, RFIT 2025 - Proceedings
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
T2 - 2025 IEEE International Symposium on Radio-Frequency Integration Technology, RFIT 2025
Y2 - 25 August 2025 through 27 August 2025
ER -