A 160 GHz High Output Power and High DC-to-RF Efficiency Fundamental Oscillator in a 130-nm SiGe BiCMOS Process

In this paper, we present a novel design method to maximize the output power and efficiency of the fundamental oscillator. To maximize the output power of a fundamental oscillator, the power-transfer ability of an active device should be enhanced by optimizing the unilateral power gain (U) of the network at the target frequency and controlling the second harmonic. To verify the feasibility of the proposed method, a 160 GHz fundamental oscillator was designed and then implemented in a 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS process. Based on the measurement, the oscillator exhibits 13.4% DC-to-RF efficiency and the output of 6.53 dBm (4.5 mW). The measured figure of merit at 159.7 GHz is −178 dBc/Hz.