{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/113963"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/113963","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Terahertz beam-steering imager using a scalable 2D-coupled architecture and multi- functional heterodyne pixels","abstract":"The topic covered by this thesis is the project of designing a terahertz imager chip on nowadays commercialized mature silicon platform. In the project, we developed the design method of a multi-functional heterodyne pixel and a scalable array architecture. The pixel is a compact electromagnetic structure simultaneously performs voltage-controlled 140 GHz local oscillation, 280-GHz-signal receiving, sub-harmonic mixing, and intermediate frequency (IF) signal extraction. Each pixel consumes 10 mW power and achieves a sensitivity of 2.9 pW in simulation. The local oscillator (LO) of the pixel is phase coupled with its neighbors; the whole oscillator array is then stabilized by an on-chip THz phase-locked loop. This architecture gives excellent array scalability. First, the LO power is evenly distributed and does not degrade in a larger array scale as a normal centralized array does. Second, the phase noise of the coupled LO network improves linearly with the array size. The simulated phase noise at 1-MHz frequency offset is -90 dBc/Hz for an 8 x 8 array and -101 dBc/Hz for a 32 x 32 array. This chip is capable of digital beam steering, too. The first version of the chip prototype with a 10 x 10 array is fabricated using a 130-nm SiGe BiCMOS process and tested.","abstract_html":"The topic covered by this thesis is the project of designing a terahertz imager chip on nowadays commercialized mature silicon platform. In the project, we developed the design method of a multi-functional heterodyne pixel and a scalable array architecture. The pixel is a compact electromagnetic structure simultaneously performs voltage-controlled 140 GHz local oscillation, 280-GHz-signal receiving, sub-harmonic mixing, and intermediate frequency (IF) signal extraction. Each pixel consumes 10 mW power and achieves a sensitivity of 2.9 pW in simulation. The local oscillator (LO) of the pixel is phase coupled with its neighbors; the whole oscillator array is then stabilized by an on-chip THz phase-locked loop. This architecture gives excellent array scalability. First, the LO power is evenly distributed and does not degrade in a larger array scale as a normal centralized array does. Second, the phase noise of the coupled LO network improves linearly with the array size. The simulated phase noise at 1-MHz frequency offset is -90 dBc/Hz for an 8 x 8 array and -101 dBc/Hz for a 32 x 32 array. This chip is capable of digital beam steering, too. The first version of the chip prototype with a 10 x 10 array is fabricated using a 130-nm SiGe BiCMOS process and tested.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Zhang, Guo (Electrical and computer science engineer) Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Ruonan Han."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017","date_published":"2017","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:05Z","subjects":["Electrical Engineering and Computer Science."],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission."],"rights_urls":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/113963","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Ruonan Han."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.other","label":"Dc Contributor Other","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 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In the project, we developed the design method of a multi-functional heterodyne pixel and a scalable array architecture. The pixel is a compact electromagnetic structure simultaneously performs voltage-controlled 140 GHz local oscillation, 280-GHz-signal receiving, sub-harmonic mixing, and intermediate frequency (IF) signal extraction. Each pixel consumes 10 mW power and achieves a sensitivity of 2.9 pW in simulation. The local oscillator (LO) of the pixel is phase coupled with its neighbors; the whole oscillator array is then stabilized by an on-chip THz phase-locked loop. This architecture gives excellent array scalability. First, the LO power is evenly distributed and does not degrade in a larger array scale as a normal centralized array does. Second, the phase noise of the coupled LO network improves linearly with the array size. The simulated phase noise at 1-MHz frequency offset is -90 dBc/Hz for an 8 x 8 array and -101 dBc/Hz for a 32 x 32 array. This chip is capable of digital beam steering, too. The first version of the chip prototype with a 10 x 10 array is fabricated using a 130-nm SiGe BiCMOS process and tested."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["S.M."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Terahertz beam-steering imager using a scalable 2D-coupled architecture and multi- functional heterodyne pixels"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Ruonan Han."],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science"],"dc:contributor.other":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science."],"dc:creator":["Zhang, Guo (Electrical and computer science engineer) Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2018-03-02T22:20:48Z"],"dc:date.available":["2018-03-02T22:20:48Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2017"],"dc:description":["Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2017.","Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.","Includes bibliographical references (pages 47-49)."],"dc:description.abstract":["The topic covered by this thesis is the project of designing a terahertz imager chip on nowadays commercialized mature silicon platform. In the project, we developed the design method of a multi-functional heterodyne pixel and a scalable array architecture. 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The first version of the chip prototype with a 10 x 10 array is fabricated using a 130-nm SiGe BiCMOS process and tested."],"dc:description.degree":["S.M."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/113963"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission."],"dc:rights.uri":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"dc:subject":["Electrical Engineering and Computer Science."],"dc:title":["Terahertz beam-steering imager using a scalable 2D-coupled architecture and multi- functional heterodyne pixels"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:05Z"}