A 200GHz power mixer in 130nm-CMOS employing nonlinearity engineering

CMOS high-mmWave/sub-mmWave sources leverage device nonlinearity, either in oscillators or frequency multipliers, to generate harmonics beyond the technology f_max. We propose a power mixer topology that exploits non-linearity engineering to enhance the output harmonic content. By engineering the amplitude and phase of the fundamental and second-harmonic content in the mixer device voltage waveforms, the output third harmonic power is enhanced significantly beyond that achievable in conventional frequency triplers. A 200 GHz power mixer in 130 nm CMOS generates 50 μW of output power at a frequency 1.5× higher than f_max.