A compact SiGe D-band power amplifier for scalable photonic-enabled phased antenna arrays

Abstract

To address the rising demand for high-speed wireless data links, communication systems operating at frequencies beyond $${100}\,\hbox {GHz}$$ 100 GHz are being targeted. A key enabling technology in the development of these wireless systems is the phased antenna array. Yet, the design and implementation of such steerable antenna arrays at frequencies over $${100}\,\hbox {GHz}$$ 100 GHz comes with a multitude of challenges. In particular, the cointegration of active electronics at each antenna element poses a major hurdle due to the inherent space constraints in the array. This article proposes a novel scalable concept for opto-electronic phased antenna arrays operating at 140 GHz. It details the system architecture of a transmitter that enables the implementation of large scale, wideband, 2D steerable phased antenna arrays and presents the design and measurement of a compact SiGe power amplifier (PA) chip to be used as one of its key building blocks. The amplifier achieves a gain of 20 dB at 135 GHz, features a $$P_{1dB}$$ P 1 d B of 14.6 dBm and can support data rates up to 45 Gbps in a limited footprint of only 540μm × 550μm. This makes it one of the fastest, most powerful D-band power amplifiers in literature with a footprint compatible with $$\frac{\lambda }{2}$$ λ 2 -spaced phased array integration.