A 60 GHz 18 dBm power amplifier utilizing 0.25 µm SiGe HBT

This paper presents a fully integrated 60 GHz two stage power amplifier using cascode topology. The design procedure and measurement results are presented. The PA is implemented in a 0.25 μm SiGe:C BiCMOS technology featuring f_t and f_max ≈ 200 GHz. The saturated output power of the amplifier has been improved with the help of current combining and matching techniques. At 60 GHz the power amplifier achieves 18 dBm output power and 11 dB gain in saturation with a peak power added efficiency of 14%. The chip is completely integrated including the matching network and biasing circuitry. The matching networks are based on transmission lines and MIM-capacitors. High quality factor of the transmission lines and MIM-capacitors helps in minimizing the losses and hence achieving a high output power and power added efficiency. The chip size excluding the pads is only 0.19 mm². This altogether makes the power amplifier quite interesting for wireless applications around 60 GHz.