PhD student "Development of RF CMOS Front-End based on N-path Mixer for 77 GHz automotive RADAR applications"

NXP is the leader on automotive RADAR market. High performance transceivers are one of the key differentiating assets integrated into our Systems on Chip. The radar design team in Toulouse is looking for a PhD student in the domain of RF and millimeter wave design.

In a radar receiver, the RF front-end is used to downconvert a signal received at a high frequency of 77 GHz to a lower intermediate frequency. To effectively detect close and long range targets, the first stages of the front-end faces a serious trade-off between the noise factor, the gain and the linearity. A recent topology of passive mixers, exploiting a charge-pump technique, can achieve a voltage gain (>10 dBv) with a good input compression point (>-5 dBm) while maintaining a moderate noise figure. An original in-house development has already demonstrated that the proposed approach compares favorably with the state of the art of mmWaves receivers.

The objective of the PhD is to implement a receiver at 77 GHz featuring the aforementioned mixer topology to verify that it can address the requirements of an automotive radar. The scope of the PhD will includes different steps of IC design, including a system analysis, theoretical analysis on analog circuits, design and optimization of both actives and passives circuits, layout, and lab measurements.

This PhD is a contract with a fixed duration of 3 years (CIFRE) and it will be conducted in partnership with the IMS laboratory in Bordeaux within the iWaves Lab.

Your missions:

• Perform a study of the state of the art of radar receivers and mmWaves mixers.
• Understand and master the functioning of N-path mixers and especially bottom-plate topologies.
• Design a radar receiver while experiencing the full flow of IC design:
• Conduct a preliminary system study of the radar receiver
• Design and optimization of a mixer suited for the constraints of radar applications.
• Design of others active circuits of the receiver if needed (LNA, LO buffer, baseband amplifier…)
• Layout and integration on a test vehicle
• Characterize in the lab the implemented receiver

Your profile:

• You have a Master or Engineering degree (BAC+5)
• You are familiar with IC design tools and flow such as Cadence virtuoso, ADS.
• You are knowledgeable in analog and RF fundamentals.
• You know how to cooperate and work in a team, you are fluent in English, both written and oral.
• You are autonomous in your research.

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