160-GHz Power Amplifier Design in Advanced SiGe HBT Technologies With Pₛₐₜ in Excess of 10 dBm

Power amplifier (PA) design for 160-GHz applications in an advanced SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) technology with saturated output power (Psat) in excess of 10 dBm is presented. The architecture is based on a three-stage pseudodifferential configuration that was implemented in SiGe HBT evaluation technology with fmaxof 400 GHz. At saturation, a PA breakout circuit delivers 10 dBm with 20-dB gain. From 150 to 170 GHz, the small-signal gain is within 20-32 dB and the output referred 1-dB compression point (P1 dB) is 8.5 dBm at 160 GHz. High output power was possible due to optimum device sizing, efficient layout, and accurate EM modeling. To our best knowledge, this is the highest output power reported for silicon PAs operating beyond 120 GHz.