St-ericsson Sa

Sjoerd Martijn Herder

Johannes Petrus Antonius Frambach

Berend Hendrik Essink

Harro Koning

An integrated circuit chip is disclosed having a semiconductor substrate and a plurality of conduction layers (metalz, metalz+1), disposed on the semiconductor substrate and separated by dielectric layers, for distribution of power and electrical signals on the chip. The integrated circuit chip comprises a power-supply distribution network () which comprises, in a first one (metalz) of the conduction layers, a first mesh structure () of electrically conductive material for distribution of a first electrical potential (POWER) of the power supply. The power-supply distribution network also comprises, in a second one (metalz+1) of the conduction layers, different from the first one of the conduction layers, a second mesh structure () of electrically conductive material for distribution of a second electrical potential (GROUND) of the power supply. In the first one (metalz) of the conduction layers, a first plurality of islands () of electrically conductive material is provided, each island being located in a hole () of the first mesh structure () and being electrically insulated from the first mesh structure with a dielectric material.

Power routing with integrated decoupling capacitance

A symmetrical, balanced, down-conversion mixer is achieved by the coordinated layout of a balanced Local Oscillator (LO) divider circuit and a balanced Radio Frequency (RF) mixer circuit, such that the LO divider is in the center and the RF mixer is arrayed symmetrically around the LO divider. In particular, the LO divider is partitioned into four portions (e.g., Ip, In, Qp, Qn), which are placed in respective quadrants, defined by orthogonal reference axes through the LO divider center. The RF mixer is similarly partitioned into four corresponding portions, which are placed around the LO divider portions in each quadrant. By integrating the LO divider and RF mixer in the layout of the symmetric, balanced, down-conversion mixer, greater component matching and control of current paths are possible, improving operational quality parameters such as IRR, IP, and LO feedthrough.

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Wageningen, Netherlands

Sjoerd Martijn Herder