A Ku-Band SSB Subharmonically Pumped Mixerdesigned using a 100nm GaN-on-Si process

Abstract

This paper presents a Ku-band single-sideband mixer (SSB). The design is based on subharmonically pumped IQ mixers (SHP), designed using a GaN on Silicon process of the French foundry OMMIC. The mixer uses an in-phase Wilkinson divider for the LO, two SHP mixers implemented using antiparallel diode pairs (APDPs) and a 90° combiner for the RF signal. To minimise the area of the circuits, the quasi-lumped technique was applied to the design. The mixer was designed to provide an output RF frequency range between 13.75-14.5 GHz. The mixer occupies an area of 2268μm x 1408μm, with a conversion loss of 21.18 dB and a sideband rejection of 29.32 dBc.