A 0.3 THz Radiating Active ×27 Frequency Multiplier Chain With 1 mW Radiated Power in CMOS 65-nm

In this paper, a ×27 radiating active frequency multiplier chain at 288 GHz is presented. The circuit output is connected to a single on-chip ring antenna radiating a record high total radiated power of 1 mW for a DC power consumption of 284 mW at 288 GHz. The circuit has a -3 dB bandwidth of 15 GHz (277-292 GHz), an EIRP of +10.2 dBm and a record radiated DC-to-RF efficiency of 0.34% for a radiating frequency multiplying chain, enabled by direct drain transistor to on-chip antenna connection. The antenna has a measured directivity of +10.2 dBi at 288 GHz. Realized in a 65-nm technology, this is the first CMOS integrated locked radiating source to achieve 1 mW of radiated power above 0.2 THz.