Wafer-scale W-band power amplifiers using on-chip antennas

Abstract

This paper presents, for the first time, a W-band SiGe power amplifier designed and fabricated together with a high-efficiency on-chip microstrip antenna. The antenna/amplifier results in an effective radiated power (ERP=PtGt) ≫ 10 dBm from 88 to 98 GHz, with a peak of 14.6 dBm at 92 GHz. The chip consumes 120 mA from a 1.7 V supply. The antenna/amplifier approach can be extended to a large number of elements (8×8) and allows for efficient wafer-scale power combining and phased-array scanning.