A 310-GHz Fundamental Oscillator with 0.4-mW Output Power and 3.2% dc-to-RF Efficiency in 65-nm CMOS

This paper presents a 310-GHz fundamental oscillator with a differential T-embedding network. An on-chip transformer acts part of an embedding component and produces a single-ended output. The design is implemented in 65-nm CMOS process, occupying a core area of 0.01 μm2. The oscillator generates 0.4-mW output power from two 16-μm transistor while drawing 10.39-mA current from a 1.2-V power supply, corresponding to a 3.2% dc-to-RF efficiency. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this oscillator provides the highest fundamental frequency in CMOS with high output power and dc-to-RF efficiency.