F-band frequency octupler in 0.13-μm SiGe:C BiCMOS with 2 mW output power

This paper presents design, implementation and measurement results of a high performance F-band frequency octupler (multiplier by eight) implemented in a 0.13-μm SiGe:C BiCMOS process. The multiplier cascades three Gilbert squarers with tuned loads. The realized chip incorporates an active balun together with a Limiting Amplifier (LA) at the input of the multiplier and a 140 GHz differential Power Amplifier (PA) designed to improve output balance. Full operational bandwidth of 20 GHz and maximum output power of 3 dBm is achieved for input power as low as -23 dBm while consuming 178 mW of DC power. The output power can be adjusted from -5 to 3 dBm. Suppression of undesired harmonic tones within the covered band is also adjustable and can be better than 25 dB. To the best of authors' knowledge, this is the first demonstration of this approach applied in this frequency range.