Design Study of a 240-GHz Amplifier Frequency Doubler Chain Based on SiGe BiCMOS Technology

Giyeong Nam; Wooyong Keum; Jae-Sung Rieh

doi:10.23075/jicas.2024.10.3.007

Giyeong Nam Korea University
Wooyong Keum Korea University
Jae-Sung Rieh Korea University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23075/jicas.2024.10.3.007

Keywords: Frequency multiplier, Driver amplifier, 130-nm SiGe BiCMOS HBT

Abstract

In this work, an amplifier-frequency doubler chain has been designed in a 130-nm SiGe BiCMOS HBT technology operating around 240 GHz. The amplifier-frequency doubler chain is composed of a 240-GHz frequency doubler integrated with a 120-GHz driver amplifier. The differential driver amplifier exhibited a saturated output power of 10.8 dBm at the center frequency and a peak gain of 13.2 dB with a 23-GHz (109-132 GHz) 3-dB bandwidth. As for the frequency doubler, which is based on a push-push configuration, a saturated output power of 3.3 dBm and a peak output power of 1.8 dBm with a 3-dB bandwidth of 142 GHz (116-258 GHz) were obtained. After integration, the amplifier-frequency doubler chain showed a saturated output power of 3.3 dBm with a 3-dB bandwidth of 48 GHz (210-258 GHz). The total DC power consumption was 103.6 mW.

Author Biographies

Giyeong Nam, Korea University

Giyeong Nam received the B.S. and in electrical engineering from Dongguk University, Seoul, Korea, in 2023, where he is currently pursuing the M.S. degree in electrical and electronics engineering. His research interests include THz signal sources and oscillators.

Wooyong Keum, Korea University

Wooyong Keum received the B.S. degree in electronic engineering from Korea University, Seoul, South Korea, in 2021, where he is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree at the School of Electrical Engineering. His current research interests include frequency synthesizers and wireless transceivers for terahertz radar.

Jae-Sung Rieh, Korea University

Jae-Sung Rieh received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in electronics engineering from Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, in 1991 and 1995, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, in 1999. In 1999, he joined the IBM Semiconductor R & D Center, where he was responsible for the development of high-frequency SiGe HBT technologies. Since 2004, he has been with the School of Electrical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Korea, where he is currently a professor. Prof. Rieh was a recipient of the IBM Faculty Award (2004) and a co-recipient of IEEE EDS George E. Smith Awards (2002 and 2006) and the IEEE Microwave and Wireless Component Letters Tatsuo Itoh Best Paper Award (2013). He has served as an Associate Editor of the IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters (2006-2009) and the IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques (2010-2013). In 2012 and 2018, he was a visiting scholar at Submillimeter Wave Advanced Technology (SWAT) team at JPL, Pasadena, USA, and at High Speed Electronics Lab (HSEL) in UCLA, Los Angeles, USA, respectively. He is the author of the book, “Introduction to Terahertz Electronics” (Springer, 2021). His major research interest lies in mm-wave and terahertz devices and circuits.

Homepage : https://hsisl.korea.ac.kr/