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 100GHz 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 100GHz 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 of 14.6 dBm and can support data rates up to 45 Gbps in a limited footprint of only 540 mu m x 550 mu m. This makes it one of the fastest, most powerful D-band power amplifiers in literature with a footprint compatible with lambda/2-spaced phased array integration.