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A 250-GHz Differential SiGe Amplifier With 21.5-dB Gain for Sub-THz Transmitters | IEEE Journals & Magazine | IEEE Xplore

A 250-GHz Differential SiGe Amplifier With 21.5-dB Gain for Sub-THz Transmitters


Abstract:

This article presents a 250-GHz SiGe amplifier composed of three differential cascode stages in a 0.13-μm SiGe BiCMOS technology (fT/fMAX = 300/500 GHz). The Marchand bal...Show More

Abstract:

This article presents a 250-GHz SiGe amplifier composed of three differential cascode stages in a 0.13-μm SiGe BiCMOS technology (fT/fMAX = 300/500 GHz). The Marchand balun is utilized to implement single-ended to differential signal transformation for its superior performance over the transformer-based balun at sub-THz frequencies, which has been investigated and verified through electromagnetic (EM) simulations. A stair-like interconnection method and conventional positive feedback technique are used to improve the inherent gain of the active device. The proposed amplifier exhibits a record S21 of 21.5 dB at 252 GHz and a 3-dB bandwidth of 11 GHz with the capability of gain control. The measured OP1dB is -3.7 dBm with the corresponding power added efficiency (PAE) of 0.3%, and the saturated output power is estimated to exceed 0 dBm at 252 GHz. The overall power consumption of the chip is 149 mW. Along with remarkable gain and output power, the compact amplifier is suitable to be adopted as an output block in the sub-THz transmitters.
Published in: IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology ( Volume: 10, Issue: 6, November 2020)
Page(s): 624 - 633
Date of Publication: 25 August 2020

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I. Introduction

Owing to the considerably wide bandwidth resource in millimeter-wave and terahertz (THz) frequency ranges, various applications including high-data-rate wireless communication, medical imaging, bio-sensing, and spectroscopy have drawn great attention in recent years [1]–[6]. Rapid development of silicon-based technology has led to impressive performance and provided a new low-cost solution to these applications. However, there are still challenges to be addressed in designing silicon-based THz systems due to the low supply voltage and inferior ft/fmax compared with their III–V semiconductor counterparts.

References

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