A 2.4 GHz SiGe HBT High Voltage/High Power Amplifier

Two- and three- stage high voltage/high power (HiVP) amplifiers have been designed, implemented, and measured using a 0.12 ??m SiGe HBT process. The HiVP is a circuit configuration that allows for very large output voltage swings, leading to high output power when used in a power amplifier. This letter describes the first implementation of a HiVP circuit using Silicon Germanium (SiGe) Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors (HBTs). The intent of this letter is (1) to illustrate practical design steps for implementing a HiVP circuit in silicon-based technologies and (2) to report measurements of this HiVP implementation in 0.12 ??m SiGe. At 2.4 GHz, Psat = 16.67 dBm and Psat = 18.55 dBm are achieved for the two- and three-stage SiGe-HBT HiVP amplifiers, respectively.