This article presents a 300-GHz signal source that consists of a 75-GHz voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), a static frequency divider-by-two circuit, a 150-GHz doubler, a 150-GHz power amplifier, and a 300-GHz doubler in a commercial 130-nm SiGe BiCMOS process. To extend the frequency tuning range, a switched substrate shield variable base inductor is adopted in the 75-GHz VCO design. The output power of the 150-GHz power amplifier is enhanced by a proposed auxiliary inductor for adjusting the phase difference of the LC balun. Besides, through systematically analyzing the influences of the input power and the base bias voltage on the output power, the 300-GHz doubler has been carefully designed for maximizing the output power. The measured peak output power is 2.3 dBm at 286 GHz and the output power is higher than 0 dBm from 282 to 312 GHz. The output frequency can be tuned from 273.5 to 312 GHz. The phase noise is measured to be $-$88.5 dBc/Hz @ 1 MHz at 300 GHz and better than $-$85.5 dBc/Hz @ 1 MHz across the whole tuning range. The total chip area is 1.254 mm$^2$ and the whole dc power consumption is 435 mW, which results in 0.4% DC-to-RF efficiency. Compared with the state-of-the-art silicon-based signal source at around 300 GHz, this article achieves the highest output power, the best tuning range, and a comparable phase noise without on-chip or free-space power combining techniques.

中文翻译：

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采用 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS 工艺的具有 2.3 dBm 峰值输出功率的 273.5-312-GHz 信号源

本文介绍了一个 300-GHz 信号源，它由一个 75-GHz 压控振荡器 (VCO)、一个静态分频器二电路、一个 150-GHz 倍频器、一个 150-GHz 功率放大器和一个 300-采用商用 130 纳米 SiGe BiCMOS 工艺的 GHz 倍频器。为了扩展频率调谐范围，75-GHz VCO 设计中采用了开关衬底屏蔽可变基极电感器。150 GHz 功率放大器的输出功率通过建议的辅助电感器增强，用于调整相位差液晶显示器巴伦。此外，通过系统分析输入功率和基极偏置电压对输出功率的影响，300-GHz倍频器经过精心设计，以最大限度地提高输出功率。286 GHz 时测得的峰值输出功率为 2.3 dBm，282 至 312 GHz 时的输出功率高于 0 dBm。输出频率可在 273.5 至 312 GHz 之间进行调谐。相位噪声测量为$-$88.5 dBc/Hz @ 1 MHz at 300 GHz 并且优于 $-$在整个调谐范围内为 85.5 dBc/Hz @ 1 MHz。总芯片面积为 1.254 mm$^2$整个直流功耗为 435 mW，这导致 0.4% 的直流到射频效率。与最先进的 300 GHz 左右的硅基信号源相比，本文实现了最高的输出功率、最佳的调谐范围和相当的相位噪声，而无需片上或自由空间功率组合技术。