300-GHz-Band CMOS Transmitter and Receiver Modules with WR-3.4 Waveguide Interface

This paper reviews 300-GHz-band CMOS transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) modules with a WR-3.4 waveguide interface that allows a high-gain antenna or some other component like an amplifier to be connected. A TX or RX chip fabricated using a 40-nm CMOS technology is mounted on a multilayer glass epoxy printed circuit board (PCB) by flip-chip bonding. A short section of on-board transmission line then leads to a waveguide transition with a back-short structure built into the PCB. The chip and the transition are completely covered by a WR-3.4 waveguide flange having a hollow for accommodating a chip and mounted onto the PCB. Wireless link between the TX and the RX modules achieves a data rate of 20 Gb/s with 16QAM over 10cm.