A 150 GHz Amplifier With 8 dB Gain and $+$6 dBm $P_{\rm sat}$ in Digital 65 nm CMOS Using Dummy-Prefilled Microstrip Lines

A 150 GHz amplifier in digital 65 nm CMOS process is presented. Matching loss is reduced and bandwidth extended by simplistic topology: no dc-block capacitor, shunt-only tuning and radial stubs for ac ground. Dummy-prefilled microstrip lines, with explicit yet efficient dummy modeling, are used as a compact, density-rule compliant matching element. Transistor layout with parallel gate feed yields 5.7 dB of MSG at 150 GHz. Measurement shows the amplifier exhibits 8.2 dB of gain, 6.3 dBm of Psat, 1.5 dBm of PidB and 27 GHz of 3 dB bandwidth, while consuming 25.5 mW at 1.1 V. The dummy-prefilled microstrip line exhibits QTL ¿ 12 up to 200 GHz.

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