Dualband 180 GHz and 205 GHz medium-power high-gain amplifier on 130 nm BiCMOS

Abstract

This paper describes the design, implementation and characterization of a dual-band medium-power amplifier. The circuit consists of three cascaded cascode stages. With the aim of maximizing the overall amplifier bandwidth, the inter-stage matching networks are designed for operation in two adjacent bands. Shielded microstrips and zero-Ohm transmission lines were used to ensure precise matching. The amplifier provides a power gain of 23.7 dB at 180 GHz with a 3 dB bandwidth of 17.2 GHz and a power gain of 20.2 dB at 205 GHz with a 3 dB bandwidth of more than 22.8 GHz. The maximum output power at 1 dB gain compression is 2.2 dBm at 170 GHz while the maximum measured output power is 3.6dBm at 180 GHz. The circuit requires 24mA from a 2.5V supply source and has been fabricated on 0.4mm2 of a 130nm SiGe BiCMOS technology.