Design of Planar Marchand Balun for MMIC

Applications
E. Valletta, L.C.N. de Vreede, and J. N. Burghartz
Department of Information, Technology and Systems
Delft University of Technology
P.O. Box 5053, 2600 GB Delft, The Netherlands
Phone: +31-15-2788327, Fax: +31-15-2622163
E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract—In this work we discuss the design of planar fabricated a double balanced mixer operating at 1.1GHz
Marchand Baluns with a limited even to odd mode in order to prove the validity of our approach.
impedance ratio, which is a major limitation for coupled
lines on silicon. A complete theoretical survey is presented II. BALUN DESIGN
and combined with the use of simulation tools to trace the
guidelines of successful design. A double balanced mixer in The original Marchand balun is composed of several
hybrid configuration is realized to validate the design sections of coaxial transmission lines λ/4 long, as
analysis and performed measurements reveal overall good clearly depicted in Fig. 1. The planar version introduces
performance. some modifications, but maintains principle of operation
and equivalent circuit. Elements of the circuit are an
Keywords—Marchand Balun; Coupled Lines; Passive
Devices; Double Balanced Mixer. open-circuit stub, in series with the parallel combination
of the output impedance ZL and a shorted line. The
I. INTRODUCTION impedance between points A and B can be expressed as:
Baluns are a key component of double-balanced
mixers and push-pull amplifiers for MMIC applications. jZ L Z S 2 tan θ
Z AB = − jZ 2 cot θ (1)
They provide balanced outputs from an unbalanced Z L + jZ S 2 tan θ
input, ideally with no phase or amplitude imbalance.
Typically, baluns are made up by lumped components where ZS2 is the equivalent characteristic impedance of
for applications in the GSM/DECT frequency range [1], the second coupled section. At resonance frequency,
whereas microstrip or coplanar couplers based designs from (1) follows that ZAB = ZL. Marchand demonstrated
are more suitable for K-band and above [2]. that, making ZS2 as large as possible in comparison to
Most coupled-lines based baluns require a high even- ZL, the condition expressed by such equivalence is a
mode to odd-mode impedances ratio, one order of good approximation in a wide frequency range, centered
magnitude or more. This results in good balance and on θ = π/2 [3,4]. It is well known that, for coupled lines,
reasonable bandwidth. However, in practice this value is the definition of characteristic impedance is:
definitely too high for a MMIC implementation in
silicon technology. Marchand-type baluns [3-6] are
Z S 2 = Z 0 e 2 ⋅ Z 0o 2 (2)
more tolerant to a low even-mode impedance,
facilitating the design of planar balun structure with
broadband response on a silicon or GaAs substrate. As a consequence, it is possible to enlarge the
In this paper we present a theoretical review of the bandwidth by increasing Z0e2, which in practice results
Marchand Balun and a synthetic procedure to design this in an increased distance between ground planes and
kind of structure in CPW configuration, with the aid of signal lines. Ideally, without ground lines, the even-
an EM simulation tool. Coplanar design presents the mode impedance would be infinite and the circuit acts as
undoubted advantage of only front side processing, an ideal balun, with no imbalance in the whole
facilitating on-chip integration. We designed and frequency spectrum. In real life design a trade-off
λ/4
open
Z2

output
Zs A ZL

B
Z1
input
(a)

A open
Z1 Z2
input
ZS1
B

ZL
output
(b)
Fig. 2. Picture of the Hybrid Star Mixer on PCB. Note the diodes
Fig. 1. Marchand balun in coaxial configuration (a) and planar at the center and bondwires along the structure to enforce ground
design (b) uniformity.

between high even-mode impedance and size is more complicated interconnects at the output.
fundamental. For a successful design, due to the significant number
ZAB can be matched to the input impedance using the of constrains and parameters present in a complex
first section of the circuit. Making the same assumption configuration as a multi-layer silicon substrate, the use
of high characteristic impedance also for the first section of electromagnetic simulation tools is required [7].
of the circuit, only the odd-mode propagates. As a In the followings, we assume a simplified
consequence, the coupled lines perform just like a configuration where ZS2 = ZS1 = ZS. For given values of
single, parallel-strip transmission line [6] with input and output impedances, using (3) it is possible to
characteristic impedance ZS1 = 2Z0o1. From this we can determinate the value of the odd-mode impedance to
write: achieve the matching condition. In order to demonstrate
the advantages of Marchand configuration, we fix Z0e
between 3 and 4 times Z0o, but higher values are
( Z S1 )2 1
Z in = ⇒ Z 0 o1 = Z in ⋅ Z L (3) obviously possible. Next step is to perform a S-
ZL 2 parameter simulation of the coupled lines formed by two
conductors with an EM software simulator. The
Therefore, the odd-mode impedance expressed by Eq. objective is to find the best geometrical configuration
(3), and the high even-mode impedance of the coupled that satisfies the calculated values for impedances and,
lines, are the two basic parameters for designing the at the same time, gives a good balance between the
Marchand-type balun. Eq. (3) reveals that in a 50 Ω width/spacing of the lines in respect to the losses.
system, for values of output impedance between 25 Ω Equations that link simulated results and propagation
and 150 Ω, the proper odd-mode impedance is rather parameters are found through transformation of the
small, which results into a high capacitance between scattering matrix to the Z-matrix or Y-matrix [8]. Next,
coupling lines, i.e. narrow spaced conductors. However, using the relationships expressed by Eq. (4), is possible
small odd-mode impedances can also be obtained to design the three-lines topology. A final optimization
without too narrow spaced conductor, using a three-lines for the layout of the full structure can be carried out
solution. Simplified expressions to relate 2-lines and 3- with the EM-simulator as well. Particular attention is
lines configurations are given below [6]: devoted to the open-circuit element, because of the
capacitive coupling between the center conductor and
Z 0odd _ 2 lines = 2 Z 0odd _ 3lines the ground plane. Furthermore, uniformity of the ground
(4) signal must be carefully valuated. For this purpose,
Z 0 even _ 2 lines = 2 Z 0 even _ 3lines design technology options as bondwires or air-bridges
are implemented. It should be noted that coupling
The major drawbacks are: bigger area occupancy and between these structures and signal lines can be
LO-RF Isolation
Insertion loss
LO=1.1Ghz 10dBm LO=1.4Ghz 10dBm
LO 1.1Ghz 10dBm LO 1.4Ghz 10dBm
sim LO=1.1Ghz 10dBm sim LO=1.4Ghz 10dBm
LO 1.1Ghz 0dBm sim LO 1.1Ghz 10dBm 0
sim LO 1.4Ghz 10dBm sim LO 1.1Ghz 0dBm -5
0 -10
-15
-5 -20
-25
-10 -30
-35
-15 -40
-45
-20 -50
-55
-25 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2

-30 RF freq (Ghz)

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
IF freq (Mhz)
RF-IF Isolation, RF 0dBm

LO 1.1Ghz 10dBm LO 1.4Ghz 10dBm

Insertion loss vs LO power, IF=100Mhz
sim LO 1.1Ghz 10dBm sim LO 1.4Ghz 10dBm
LO 1.1 Ghz LO 1.4 Ghz 0

sim LO 1.1 Ghz sim LO 1.4 Ghz -5

-5
-10
-10
-15
-15
-20
-20
-25
-25
-30
-30
-35
-35 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2

-40
RF freq (Ghz)
-10 -5 0 5 10 15
LO power (dBm)
LO-IF isolation
RF 1.1Ghz,LO 10dBm RF 1.4Ghz,LO 10dBm
Fig. 3. Insertion Loss - Dotted lines are measured data, dashed sim RF 1.1Ghz,LO 10dBm sim RF 1.4Ghz,LO 10dBm
lines are simulated ones. 0

-5

significant and must be taken into account during the -10

-15
design.
-20

III. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS -25

-30
We developed a hybrid fully functional Star Mixer -35

based on the Marchand Balun to validate the analysis 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2

LO f r eq ( Ghz )
carried out in the previous section. The circuit is
implemented using a RO4003 substrate from Rogers. LO-RF Isolation, RF off
It’s a relatively low cost substrate, based on LO 10dBm

hydrocarbon/ceramic laminates and suitable for 0

applications up to 10 GHz. For this material, attenuation -5

-10
is quite low (δ=2.7⋅10-3), and the dielectric constant is -15

εr=3.38, both measured at the maximum frequency of 10 -20

-25
GHz. The metal on the top is copper, 17 µm thick. An -30
additional process was used to add a thin gold layer, -35

which is less than 1 µm, to have a good contact with the -40
1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2
aluminum bondwires. Since the highest working RF freq (Ghz)
frequency is not the main objective of this circuit, the
center frequency of the balun is fixed at 1.1 GHz. At this
frequency, the substrate acts just like a loss-less Fig. 4. Port-to-port isolation - Dotted lines are measured data,
medium, and parasitic effects related to the use of dashed lines are simulated ones.
discrete components and solderings are neglectable.
Bondwires are used along the structure to guarantee an
uniform ground and to connect the actives to the output measurements quite well. Only the LO-to-RF isolation is
of the circuit. SMA CPW connectors are present at the between 10 dB and 15 dB lower than expected. A reason
input and output of the mixer to connect the circuit to for this result is the hybrid nature of the circuit. The use
the measurement set-up. of bondwires, discrete connections, and lumped
Obviously another important aspect of the mixer is the components adds many parasitic couplings, which limit
performance of the Schottky diodes. We have used mostly the port-to-port isolation. Besides this, at the
Philips diodes; the most important model parameters are frequency of 1.5 GHz, where the Marchand Balun is no
in Tab. 1. The theoretic cut-off frequency, which is longer working in the optimal region, port isolation is
1 still acceptable, with a value better than 25 dB.
defined as f c = , is equal to 40 GHz, an
2π RS C j 0
IV. CONCLUSIONS
adequate value for the frequency of our application.
Marchand type balun are characterized by broadband
characteristic and paramount amplitude balance.
D1PS-76SB17 Unfortunately, microstrip and multilayer designs have
practical problems that limit their possibility of
Is Rs Cj0 N fc
integration. On the contrary, CPW designs allow simple
4.8e-9 5.112 7.867e-13 1.022 ∼40 GHz interconnections and are more suitable for MMIC
application. We presented the analysis and a design
Tab. 1. Main parameters of employed Schottky diodes. procedure for this kind of balun, based on the combined
use of analytical equations and simulation tools. A
For this PCB implementation, the measurements focus mixer in star configuration is presented as test circuit.
mainly on the insertion loss and port-to-port isolation. It Results are significant and in good accordance with
should be noted that isolation is strongly dependent from simulated ones, thus confirming our investigation
having perfect balanced and matched device method.
characteristics. This aspect is difficult to archive
with lumped packaged diodes. V. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We performed measurements using 2 HP83640L The authors wish to thank B. Rejaei, M. Spirito, R.
signal generators and an HP8565E spectrum analyzer. A Klerks, and V. d’Alessandro for their assistance during
preventive measure of the attenuation of the cables at this work.
working frequency was performed to compensate for it.
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be measured, and a standard 50Ω load at the last port. A
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to measure the input power. Simulated data fit