A SiGe BiCMOS amplifier for spin-qubits low-frequency readout: Towards a scalable quantum computer

The concept of quantum computing is gaining increasing popularity in the last years due to its potential for running certain classes of algorithms much more efficiently than classical computation. These algorithms span from simulation of quantum mechanical effects to factorization of large number, from simulation of molecules for drug discovery...

Antenna-in-Package (AiP) Using Through-Polymer Vias (TPVs) for a 122-GHz Radar Chip

High-performance IC-to-antenna interconnection is one of the key enablers for the mass production of high-end millimeter wave (mmW) radar systems above 100 GHz. In this work, a radar system with an on-package antenna array working at 122 GHz is presented. The antenna is placed on top of the molded package and the antenna-to-chip interconnection...

5G mm-Wave Downconverter: Architecture for the Antenna Dome System

The commercialization of millimeter wave frequencies for the 5G New Radio standard requires time and cost -effective testing equipment. The over-the-air measurement setup developed at the TU Delft (ADome) is able to reduce measurement time, by positioning multiple fixed sensing nodes around the antenna-under-test. To expand the system...

Design of Current-Mode RF/mm-wave Front-Ends

This thesis investigates the performance limits and design challenges of two current-mode front-end concepts that target WiFi and mm-wave 5G applications, respectively. The first concept is a power amplifier (PA), which operates at 2.4GHz and is driven by a direct-digital RF modulator (DDRM). A design for the PA, which also includes a parallel...

Cryogenic SiGe Bipolar Amplifiers for Spin-Qubit DC Readout

In recent years, quantum computers have become increasingly popular, with high-profile companies in-vesting more and more resources into the development of quantum-computing prototypes. Such interest is motivated by the exponential increase in the computing power that quantum computers offer over classical computers, which may be used in several...

170-GHz Power Amplifier in 0.13-μm SiGe BiCMOS

In recent years, the demand for the wireless connectivity is increasing and leads to the research into the above 100GHz design. Developments have been made with the circuit and technologies to make the circuit operate at 100GHz. The current availability of silicon-based technologies providing devices with ft/fmax frequencies exceeding 300-GHz...

Thin-film silicon triple junction solar cell for solar fuels

The ever increasing installed capacity of renewable, sustainable energy is essential in order to keep the earth<br/>habitable. However, the intermittent nature of solar and wind energy do not strictly follow human energy<br/>demands. Therefore an energy of sufficient magnitude buffer is essential to provide a constant supply of<br/>energy that...

Integrated SiGe Detectors for Si Photonic Sensor Platforms

In this work, we present the results of integrated Ge detectors grown on a Si photonic platform for sensing applications. The detectors are fabricated on a passive photonic circuit for maximum coupling efficiency. Measurement results at 1300 nm wavelength show a responsivity of 0.2 A/W and very low dark current levels. For a voltage range...

Si/SiGe transistors for addressing large-scale qubit arrays for Quantum Computer

The use of quantum computer can dramatically increase the computation power when compared with a classical computer. This is achieved by the manipulation of qubits. Qubits are the basic unit of quantum computation, and assumes a superposition of the two classical states ’0’ and ’1’. Qubits can be realized in many ways, namely; Ion traps,...

Gate fidelity and coherence of an electron spin in an Si/SiGe quantum dot with micromagnet

The gate fidelity and the coherence time of a quantum bit (qubit) are important benchmarks for quantum computation. We construct a qubit using a single electron spin in an Si/SiGe quantum dot and control it electrically via an artificial spin-orbit field from a micromagnet. We measure an average single-qubit gate fidelity of ∼99% using...

LNA and Square Law Detector at 60 GHz for Passive Radiometers

Millimeter-wave passive radiometers have earlier been designed in III-V integrated circuit (IC) technologies, due to their higher carrier mobility when compared to silicon, resulting in higher transit frequencies (fT) thereby enabling to operate at higher frequencies. However, increased fT in SiGe BiCMOS technology has generated interest for...

Verification of the non-local avalanche current model in mextram for advanced SiGe HBTs

To realize optimum performance, SiGe HBTs are typically designed with heavily doped implanted collectors. For practical circuits operating at either high collector current density (Jc) or high collector-base voltage (Vcb) avalanche multiplication is an important effects that must be accurately measured and modeled. For example in digital...

17 GHz RF Front-Ends for Low-Power Wireless Sensor Networks

A Scalable Mextram Model for Advanced Bipolar Circuit Design

In this thesis, a referenced based scaling approach and its parameter extraction for the bipolar transistor model Mextram is proposed. It is mainly based on the physical properties of the Mextram parameters, which scale with the junction temperature and geometry of the bipolar transistor. The scalable electrical parameter in the scaling rules is...