A 110-134-GHz SiGe Amplifier With Peak Output Power of 100-120 mW

This paper presents a fully integrated eight-way power-combining amplifier for 110-134-GHz applications in an advanced 90-nm silicon-germanium HBT technology. The eight-way amplifier is implemented using four-stage common-emitter single-ended power amplifiers (PAs) as building blocks, and reactive lambda/4 impedance transformation networks are used for power combining. The single-ended PA breakout has a small-signal gain of 20 dB at 116 GHz, and saturation output power (P-sat) of 12.5-13.8 dBm at 114-130 GHz. The eight-way power-combining PA achieves a small-signal gain of 15 dB at 116 GHz, and P-sat of 20-20.8 dBm at 114-126 GHz with a power-added efficiency of 7.6%-6.3%. The eight-way amplifier occupies 4.95 mm(2) (including pads) and consumes a maximum current of 980 mA from a 1.6-V supply. To our knowledge, this is the highest power silicon-based D-band amplifier to date.