A 100–145 GHz area-efficient power amplifier in a 130 nm SiGe technology

Abstract

A 6-stage, 8-way combining power amplifier (PA) in a 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS technology is designed and measured. This PA has an output power of 12.5–15.5 dBm in a frequency range from 100 GHz to 145 GHz, when the input power is about 2 dBm. The small signal gain is 19 dB and the maximum DC power consumption is 480 mW with a supply voltage of 1.87 V. The peak power added efficiency (PAE) is 6.4% in D-band. T-junctions are utilized to combine and divide millimeter-wave power. To reduce the PA's loss and chip area, neither a Wilkinson power combiner/divider nor a balun is applied. The chip size is 0.53 mm2 (0.26 mm2 without pads).