1 - Introduction

Summary

High-frequency circuits in wireless, fiber-optic, and imaging systems

The term radio frequency integrated circuits or, in short, RFICs, describes circuits operating in the 300MHz to 3GHz range. In the 1990s, RFICs became closely associated with the cellular phone industry. In contrast, microwave (3–30GHz) and mm-wave (30–300GHz) monolithic integrated circuits, or MMICs, first introduced in the 1970s, have largely been associated with GaAs and III-V technologies and a broader spectrum of commercial and military applications. Today, Si, SiGe, and III-V integrated circuits coexist in commercial products throughout these frequency ranges, each with its own niche market.

In this book, the general term high-frequency integrated circuits, HF ICs, is employed to include RFICs, MMICs, as well as high-speed digital and 300+ GHz electronic monolithic integrated circuits. These high-frequency circuits and systems cover the frequency range from 1GHz to 1THz and find their application in:

• wireless,

• backplane,

• optical fiber, and

• other wired communications,

which have become mainstream in the last 20 years. Other, more recent, applications and systems such as:

• road safety and automotive radar,

• security,

• industrial sensors,

• remote sensing and radiometers, and

• radioastronomy

also benefit from the IC concepts and design methodologies developed here. These circuits can be loosely classified in:

• tuned narrowband,

• wideband, and

• broadband.